The Wolves Of Avalon/Y Gododdin/Godreah Records/2022 Full Length Review

 

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  The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  are  a  band  from  the  united  Kingdom  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  pagan  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Y  Gododdin"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Godreah  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  while  also  introducing  elements  of  folk  music  onto  the  recording  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also b e  heard  briefly  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Vocals  are  done  in  a  very  aggressive  blackened  metal  style  while  keyboards  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  Clear  pagan  vocals are  also  utilized on  a  lot  of  tracks  along  with  some  blast  beats  also  being  added  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  times  as  well  as  the  music  also  having its  progressive  moments.  Session  work can  also  be  heard  from  members  of  Venom  Inc,  Drudkh,  Taake,  Forefather  and  Aklash  and  most  of  the  album  also  sticks  to  a  mid  tempo  style.

  On  this  recording  The  Wolves  of  Avalon  takes  their  pagan  style  of  folk  metal  into  more  of  a  progressive  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  ancient  battles  described  in  the  ancient  Welsh  poems  written  by  the  bard  Aneirin.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  pagan  folk  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Men  Of  Gododdin"  and  "Dead  mans  Cloak's"
.  8  out  of  10.

  www.thewolvesofavalon.co.uk

www.facebook.com/thewolvesofavalon

https://youtu.be/McD2wn1QkxI  

The Wolves Of Avalon Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since
the recording and release of the new album?

We are trying to get together a video track for You Tube, and we also have
a Venom cover ‘Die Hard’ that we have as an extra track on a vinyl edition
if all works out well. There will also be a new Meads of Asphodel to write
in the next 6-8 months.

2. Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the
musical sound that is presented on the new recording and also how does it
differ from your previous album and split?

The music is relatively the same. Mid-tempo pagan folk metal with violin,
mandolin and flutes. The new album is more polished, more subtle and less
abrasive that the first. You can tell it’s the same band, but with all
progressions, you can notice the difference of production and song
structuring.

2.The lyrics on the new recording are a concept album, can you tell us a
little bit more about it?

The album is about the great ancient British war leader, Boudicca. She was
a tribal queen of the Iceni, and lived approximately 2000 years ago. The
land was under the oppressive yoke of Rome

It was an age where the great Druid centre of Anglesey was totally
destroyed and most of the Druid culture wiped from the face of the Erath.
Boudicca rebelled and fought against this invader and although inflicting
terrible casualties ultimately lost her life and hopes in one final
battle.

3.I know that the band name comes from Celtic Paganism, can you tell us a
little bit more about your views on this topic?

I am more inclined to look upon the ancient pagan belief system than the
corrupt and rotten dogma of Christianity. The nature Gods of the ancients
have meaning for the lives that existed at the time, winter and summer,
water and crops, each providing the cycle of seasons that create the
essence of life for the farming tribes. I despise the concept of
worshiping a redeeming deity whose father had a preordained scheme of
original sin followed by penance on a cross, followed by complete
doctrinal nonsense. What’s that shit all about???

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also
how would you describe your stage performance?

We have never played live so this question is hard to answer.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

No, this band has no plans to do any shows.

7.On the new album you have some well known musicians doing some guest
vocals, how did you get in contact with these musicians and also where you
satisfied with what they brought onto the album?

I have been in contact with Thurios and Varggoth for many years through
distro trades or general band respect. I am very honoured to have members
from Drudkh and Nokturnal Mortum doing guest vocals and as we all share a
deep belief in our lands lost identities and ancient ways. It has nothing
to do with politics or racist views as some idiots will no doubt groan
about. We are a band who speak of past events that have shaped out times.

8, You also did a cover of Enslaved's "Essence" what was the decision
behind doing  your own version of this song?

We actually did this track for an Enslaved tribute album that did not sell
very well as far as I can tell.  It felt right to put this track at the
end of this album as the atmosphere and overall feeling to the song is
well balanced.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new album by fans
of pagan and folk metal?

It is too early to say, but so far it has been very positive. Only time
will tell.

10.What is going on with some of the other musical projects these days
that some of the band members are a part off?

For me it is, The Meads of Asphodel. We are working on the next album now
and this should appear in mid-2015.

James Marinos is in other bands outside the metal realms but none to be
named.

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

I would like to think we will progress along the same path of folk pagan
metal. Maybe get some other guests that we respect in the music world, and
try out more elusive old style instruments and vocal patterns.

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?

I am listening to a great Polish band, Wedrujacy Wiatr, They are like the
great Russian bands, Walknut, or, Forest. Really good dense atmospheric
black metal.  Many bands have influences us as metal fans, From Hawkwind
to Bathory, Drudkh, Venom, Enslaved, too many to mention, but musically it
is  our style and I would hope you will not be able to compare the Wolves
of Avalon with any other band out there.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I read and absorb as much as I can about ancient history, theology and the
shit that goes on and has gone on in this world we wake up to every day.
James likewise, absorbs his own paganism and British landscapes. James
spends much time visiting our ancient landmarks and walking across the
northern hills.

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

Just to thank you for your time in asking these questions and that we all
in the Wolves of Avalon hope people will enjoy the music as much as we
enjoyed creating it.

I bid you well

Metatron

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The Wolves Of Avalon/Boudicca's Last Stand/SixSixSix Music/2014 CD Review

   The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  pagan  form  of  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Boudicca's  Last  Stand"  which  was  released  by  SixSixSix  Music.

  A  Celtic  folk  music  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  flutes,  violins,  and  acoustic  guitars  and  after  a  minute  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  album  also  starts  getting  more  heavy  and  melodic  and  the  vocals  also  sound  very  aggressive  while  also  having  a  melodic  tone  to  them  at  times.

  Keyboards  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  along  with  some  clean  singing  female  and  male  vocals  and  the  heavier  parts  bring  in  the  pagan  sound  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  start  popping  in  at  times  and  the  guitar  leads  are  very  melodic  sounding  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  aggressive  vocals  start  bringing  in  more  elements  of  black  metal.

  Their  is  a  good  mixture  of  both  heavy  pagan  metal  and  soft  folk  music  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  also  alternates  between  slow  and  mid  paced  sections,  a  good  amount  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  have  Thurios  from  Drudkh/Astrofaes  and  Hildr  Valkyrie  from  Folkearth  doing  some  quest  vocals  on  some  of  the  songs  and  there  is  also  a  good  usage  of  mandolins,  cellos  and  accordion's  being  used  throughout  the  recording  and they  make  the  music  have  a  more  medieval  pagan  feeling  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  cover  of  Enslaved's  "Essence"  which  also  has  a  quest  vocals  by  Miria  of  Sigh.

  The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  creates  a  very  interesting  style  of  pagan  metal  that  takes  the  heaviness  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  Celtic  folk  music  and   the  combination  sounds  very  great  and  epic  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Celtic  Pagan  and  Boudicca  a  queen  who  took  a  stand  against  Rome  after  the  great  druid  sanctuary  of  Ynys  Mon  was  ruthlessly  destroyed.

  In  my  opinion  The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  are  a  very  great  sounding  pagan/folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Sky  Goddess"  "Bonded  by  Blood  And  Sword"  "Iceni  Queen  Unfurl'd  In  A  Tempest  Of  Crows"  and  "Cold  As  Mouldering  Clay".  8/5  out  of  10

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