Sylvatica/Ashes And Snow/Satanath Records/Pest Records/2021 CD Review

 

  Sylvatica  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death,  pagan  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Ashes  And  Snow"  which  was  released  as  a  join  effort  between  Satanath  and  Pest  Records.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  stringed  instruments  and  symphonic  elements  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  are  also  added  into  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  folk  music  elements.

  Clean  pagan  vocals  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  a  later  track  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy,  science,  mythology,  cosmology  and  apocalyptic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Sylvatica  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black,  death,  pagan  and  folk  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ashes  And  Snow"  "Cosmic  Strings"  and  "Halls  Of  Extinction".  8  out  of  10.

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Sylvatica Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We are a melodic death metal band, with inspirations from primarily Nordic folk music and Black metal. We started out in 2009, as more of a folk/black project, but the band has developed way beyond that, and we now try to bring many other elements into our music as well. Our upcoming CD ‘Evil Seeds’ is just around the corner, and we are blown away by the positive feedback!

2.You have a new album coming out in July, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new album and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

It’s a journey through many of the different sounds that metal has to offer, but without giving up the Sylvatica sound. We’ve always tried to make our songs varied and interesting, but this album is way more diverse than our previous material. This is a good thing.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album?

In our lyrics we write stories about many different things, and take inspiration from-also-many different things, such as: Heaven & Hell, Nature, Norse Mythology etc.

4.On the earlier recordings the music was written in Danish but on the new album the lyrics are written in English, what was the decision behind writing in this language for the new recording?

We felt that the Danish language had a certain, sort of, silliness to it, with the way we wrote our lyrics. And we wanted a bit more serious tone on this album, English was the better fit.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sylvatica'?

It means ‘of the forest’.  There is a lot of forest in this part of the world, and many of the themes in our lyrics also involve forests and nature. It was a great fit.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We’ve played a lot of great shows over the past years, the ‘Mjød and Metal Tour’ (Mead and Metal Tour) for example, had some great ones. But the credit has to go to the fans, and the people in the crowd in general. When the crowd is having a blast, we are having a blast.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

To be announced.


8.The new album is coming out on Gateway Music, can you tell us a little bit more about this record label?

Gateway Music is not really a record label. It is a distribution firm which will be helping us with physical and digital distribution. They are setting up a web-shop for us. We will post the link to the shop on our facebook page very soon.


9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death, black and folk metal?

The feedback on the title track from our upcoming album “Evil Seeds” has been very positive. So we are looking forward to unveiling a track more on youtube soon. Our old stuff is a tad more folk inspired than our new material, and the feedback from the folk metal fans have been great in the past. The new album is going in a more “finish melodic metal” direction, so we are looking forward to hearing what people think.

10.What is going on with the other bands or musical projects that some of the band members are involved with these days?

Horned Almighty is just about to release their 5th full-length album “World of Tombs”, and Satanic Assault Division is planning on hitting the studio soon to record their second full-length album. So things are going pretty well.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

It is hard to say. Usually we just write something we think sounds cool and then suddenly we have been going in a different direction without even noticing it. We are all very happy with the style we have right now on Evil Seeds, so let’s see what happens next time.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Bands such as Wintersun and Kalmah have been great sources of inspiration on this album. Also more heavy bands such as Behemoth have influenced our songwriting. We are all listening to many different styles of metal and it all influences the writing process.

13.How would you describe your views on Paganism?

I don’t really have an opinion regarding that. I guess it’s okay. I like nature.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?

I like skiing but unfortunately the conditions for that is very poor here in Denmark. I also like fishing and nature in general.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you for reading and thank you for the interview! Remember to stay tuned on our facebook-page, Evil Seeds is available on our web shop from the 1st July.

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Sylvatica/Evil Seeds/Gateway Music/2014 CD Review

 Svlvatica  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  blackened   pagan/death metal  with  elements  of  folk  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Evil  Seeds"  which  was  released  by  Gateway  Music.

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  synths  that  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  as  well  as  adding  symphonic  elements  into  the  bands  musical  sound  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  which  end  up  becoming  a  very  powerful  part  on  the  later  songs  of  the  album  and  blast  beats  which  leads  up  to  some  death  metal  growls.

  The  music  is  very  close  to  a  melodic  pagan/death  metal  sound  on  this  album  along  with  some traces  of  black  metal  and  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  added  into  the  music  bring s in  folk   music  elements  and  in  the  heavier  sections  of  the  recording  there  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  In  certain  sections  of  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  small  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  being  utilized  in  the  background  and  they  add a  more  black  metal  feeling  to  the  recording  and  some  of  the  later  fast  parts  show  some  elements  of  raw  black  metal  being  added  in  their  music  along  with  more  acoustic  guitars  being  added  in  on  later  songs  while  the  main  focus  is  on  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  death  metal  sound  and  they  also  bring  in  a  good  amount  of  thrash  metal  influenced  guitar riffing  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Svlvatica  create  a  very  heavy  and  blackened  pagan  form  of  death  metal  with  their  music  bringing  in  a  perfect  balance  between  brutality  and  melody  as  well  as  adding  in  some  folk   and  thrash  metal  influences  into  their  musical  sound  to  create  a  very  interesting  sounding  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Norse  Paganism,  Luciferian,  and  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sylvatica  are  a  very  great  sounding  pagan/blackened  death  metal  band  an d if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lost"  "Evil  Seeds"  "God Of  the  Gallows"  and  "Sect  Of  Sleep".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWaOIaEuPw