Released By: STYGIAN CRYPT OUT NOW!!!
Style: ymphonic Folk Metal
Links: http://www.myspace.com/fferylltgroup
Tracklist:
1. A Celtic Tale (Instrumental)
2. Night Of The Wood God
3. Following Skadi
4. Dance Of Druids
5. Autumn’s Gold
6. Warriors Of Ireland
7. Winds Of Trondheimsfjorden
8. Jule
9. Gjallarhorn
10. LAI LAI HEI (Insfernium Cover)
11. Inis Mona (Eluveitie Cover)
The new album from FFERYLLT is the second Russian folk-metal release I have reviewed this month, and even though these guys and TRELLEBORG both hail from Russia and both bands base their sound in folk-metal there are a few stark differences between the two releases.
The first notable difference is that this album feels a little more serious than the TRELLEBORG one. Where that one was colorful and fun in places, DANCE OF DRUIDS is dark, angry and a lot more sinister. There is still a thick layer of Symphonic style metal to be found, but the death and black metal elements are the predominant sounds that you will hear. Most of the vocals are of the female variety, from the screeches all the way to the growly segments and are a real highlight of this album. There are plenty of operatic influenced vocal parts too, that occasionally give way to some definitely male death growls, all of which combine for a very vocal minded album.
Most of the instrumental parts are played as you would expect from a folk metal release, all barring a few times where some bagpipes sprung out to surprise me. The two cover songs that are tacked on to the end of this album are both worth hearing, especially LAI LAI HEI, which whilst not adding a massive amount of variation to the original, definitely shows that the band are serious about listening to and playing this style of music.
Something I really want to make a special mention of though is actually separate from the music itself, and that is the overall presentation of the album as a product. The dark, but not quite black artwork of the front and rear cover, is mixed with a shiny gold text that almost looks embossed when struck by a certain light, and when said light hits the front cover it almost looks as though the little fire in the artwork is actually alive. There is also a full lyrics booklet that is simplistic in its manner, but really suits the feel of the music held within. But it doesn’t end there, the actual disc itself is nothing short of a pure work of art and something that any collector of music would be proud to own. The top of the disc is done in a very similar style to the covers, but when you flip over to the playing side you will be in for a real treat. The inner side has a gold coating that looks real special, and the outer edge, where the music stops features a celtic tribal pattern that goes all the way around the rim.
So in short, if you like folk metal, Viking metal or any of the incarnations of metal that are similar, DANCE OF DRUIDS will certainly keep you entertained and is a more that worthy digital purchase. If you are a collector of all things special in the metal landscape, the disc itself will find a special place in your collection.
Written by Zeezee
Ratings Zeezee 9/10
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