Helevorn - Aamamata (CD)

dark doom death metal, BadMoodMan Music, BadMoodMan Music
600.00 Р
CD
Price in points: 900 points
BMM. 085-19 x
In stock
+

The album has been recorded at Psychosomatic studios by M.A Riutort and mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios, like their previous album, and the cover artwork has been made by Gonzalo Aeneas.

In the large list of contributions, you can find Heike Langhans of the Swedish band Draconian, who sings in a song of the album.

This new disc is a bit more epic, intense and dark than the previous ‘Compassion Forlorn’, who had excellent reviews and took the band to play in several European cities, and it will delight to all the Doom Metal fans over the world.

Tracklist:
1 A Sail To Sanity 5:25
2 Goodbye, Hope 5:58
3 Blackened Waves 5:26
4 Aurora 7:24
5 Forgotten Fields 5:44
6 Nostrum Mare (Et Deixo Un Pont De Mar Blava) 7:28
7 Once Upon A War 5:55
8 The Path To Puya 8:38
9 La Sibil·La 5:05

Artist:
Helevorn
Artist Country:
Spain
Album Year:
2019
Title:
Aamamata
Genre:
dark doom death metal
Format:
CD
Type:
CD Album
Package:
Jewel Case
Label:
BadMoodMan Music
Cat Num:
BMM. 085-19
Release Year:
2019
Barcode:
4627080611498
Country Of Manufacture:
Russia
Review
Metal Archives
9.4/10
30.03.2019

Music made in Palma/Majorca is something that normally leads to my inner alarm bell ringing. I am glad to report that not only stuff for drunken masses of tourists has its origin in that region but also some highly emotional and beautifully layered metal music. As proof we got “Aamamata”, the fourth full length by the band Helevorn. Being active for two decades this bunch of guys exactly know what they want to achieve leading to an album presented with a lot of self-confidence and showing a band that has found their own style.

Doom metal with a few hints of gothic influences and sweepingly glorious patterns is the basis of the sound. Epic harmonies are alternating with crunchy riffs that while not necessarily offering something completely new are played with so much energy and freshness that missing innovation does not bother me. The two guitarists Samuel and Sandro are not afraid of thinking just a little bit outside of the box adding a few twists to the trademark chops of each track. They know their instruments and while there are some more extended soloing parts they keep the main focus on the harmonies and the song structures. Some of the chords have a bit of a more (hard) rock feel to them adding another layer to the music.

Something similar can be said about the rhythm section as the drumming can be furious and fast but is kept laid-back and groovy most of the time. Depending on the situation the tempo is raised or taken out a bit leading to a very diversified listen. Generally speaking Helevorn put the most emphasis on the songwriting process and the entertainment factor. The whole album flies by and without noticing 57 minutes are over and you need to hit the play button again. Maybe some sections could have been trimmed a bit but this is only a minor complaint.

The production is just perfect with a thick and heavy yet diversified sound at the same time. The mix is well balanced with the crushing heaviness and the more complex melodic elements both having got enough room to breathe. The bass is audible as well and in combination with the commanding yet emotional vocal work “Aamamata” is one of the strongest examples of doom metal I came across within the past few years.

Author: Edmund Sackbauer
Review
The Headbanging Moose
21.03.2019

Hailing from Palma de Mallorca (which is becoming a recurrent source of first-class metal music at The Headbanging Moose), in the Balearic Islands, Spain, the melancholic, somber and utterly melodic Gothic/Doom Metal outfit that goes by the stylish name of Helevorn (a lake in Tolkien’s The Silmarillion) returns in 2019 with their fourth full-length album and what’s perhaps their boldest and most detailed opus since their inception in 1999, the multi-layered Aamamata, leaving us absolutely stunned with its almost one hour of the finest and most elegant heavy music you can think of. Comprised of lead singer Josep Brunet, guitarists Sandro Vizcaino and Samuel Morales, bassist Guillem Morey, pianist and keyboardist Enrique Sierra, and drummer Xavi Gil, Helevorn aim at reaching new heights with Aamamata, proving melancholic doom can be just as breathtaking as any style considered faster or heavier, being highly recommended for admirers of the gloomy music by renowned acts like Draconian, Swallow The Sun and Paradise Lost.

Featuring a classy logo by Irene Serrano, a mesmerizing artwork by Gonzalo Aeneas depicting Sibyl, and Ancient Greek prophetess, and several brilliant guest musicians such as Júlia Colom and Heike Langhans (from Draconian), Aamamata, the song that Death sings every day in the Mediterranean Sea (which has become a desolate pit for human lives), goes beyond the boundaries of traditional Doom Metal, bringing elements from countless metal and non-metal styles and, therefore, offering our avid ears a unique and captivating sonority from start to finish. “We know that we are not discovering something new, but it’s how it sounds the 90’s goth-doom metal in the present times. It should be received like a piece to reborn the scene and to relate music and the decadence of Humankind through the drama of the refugees, that constantly are dying trying to escape from the hell that Western Countries put to them. We think that fans will love the new album,” said the band about their newborn spawn, and they’re more than right in stating we, fans of underground heavy music, will simply love Aamamata in its entirety.

Sandro and Samuel begin slashing their strings in the sluggish and atmospheric opening track A Sail To Sanity, urging us all to bang our heads like there’s no tomorrow in a beautiful display of classic Doom Metal where Josep growls deeply and with a lot of anguish, whereas in Goodbye, Hope the piano and keys by Enrique bring a touch of delicacy and melancholy to the musicality, while Xavi pounds his drums in the most damned way possible, being tailored for fans of somber and heavy-as-hell doom. And in Blackened Waves, led by Gulliem’s metallic bass lines and Enrique’s ethereal keys, we’re treated to a dense and enfolding sound enhanced by cryptic lyrics that exhale poetry and arcane feelings (“Rolling by, weary, uneven planes / A darkness lurks / Slowly, I am given to the mystery / I am drawn into its depths / A wall of, formidable strength / The power is palpable”).

However, it’s in Aurora, a hypnotizing voyage through the most obscure realms of Doom Metal, that Helevorn position themselves as one of the most interesting names of the current Spanish scene, with the music starting in a compelling way with the gorgeous vocals by guest Júlia Colom together with the eccentric sounds of the bouzouki and bağlama by Jaume Compte, bringing an extra dosage of finesse to the music, not to mention its classic riffs and pleasant pace. Furthermore, this flawless aria is dedicated to all of those who have fallen by executions and political persecution during the fascist coup in Spain in 1936, and are still missing, buried in hundreds of unmarked mass graves, but is especially dedicated to Aurora Picornell, a freedom fighter who stood up for liberty and civil rights, and was executed on January 5, 1937 (more than 80 years after her death, her body has not yet been found). If that doesn’t touch your soul, I honestly don’t know what would. Anyway, drinking from the same fountain as Paradise Lost and Draconian, Helevorn deliver Forgotten Fields, a song that feels like it was written in the 90’s with Josep once again doing an amazing job with both his harsh growls and clean vocals, followed by the serene Nostrum Mare (Et deixo un pont de mar blava), featuring spoken parts by (in order of appearance) Vassilis Mazaris (Greek), Diane Camenzuli (Maltese), Joan Oliver (Spanish), Sara Husein El Ahmed (Arabic), Pablo Ferrarese (Italian), Isabelle Pereira (French), Élide Terrón and Felip Palou (Catalan), and Corin Solo Fogel (Hebraic), while the band makes sure the atmosphere remains vibrant and obscure throughout the entire song, in special the piano notes by Enrique and the metallic riffs by the band’s guitar duo.

Once Upon a War is another old school composition showcasing slow and steady drums, low-tuned bass punches intertwined with piano notes, and a very powerful vocal performance by Josep deeply vociferating the song’s acid lyrics (“A woman taken from home / To appease the warlords’ thirst / The children give themselves up / What must be done to save their own innocence? / Innocents!”), all embraced by Sandro’s and Samuel’s crisp riffs and solos, before the over 8 minutes of mesmerizing, doomed music found in the following tune, entitled The Path to Puya, majestically penetrates deep inside your mind, with the stunning guest vocalist Heike Langhans forming a fantastic dynamic duo with Josep, while guest Pedro Zubiri (from Blind Panic) fires a soulful guitar solo for our total delight, and that hypnotizing and breathtaking vibe goes on until the song’s obscure finale. And lastly, Helevorn bring forward the gentle La Sibil-la, a Catalan medieval song dated from the 10th century, with the band’s version being very delicate and dense, switching from purely acoustic passages to the traditional heaviness of Doom Metal, providing a superb ending for a grandiose album of dark and mournful metal music.

You can find Aamamata available for a full listen on YouTube, and purchase your copy of such awesome album from the band’s official BandCamp page or webstore, as well as from the Solitude Productions webstore (in regular CD or Digipak format), from iTunes, from Amazon or from Discogs. Furthermore, don’t forget to show your utmost support to those talented Spaniards by following them on Facebook, by subscribing to their YouTube channel and by listening to their music on Spotify. Helevorn elevated not only the quality and potency of their already refined Doom Metal in Aamamata, but the spirits of all of those who admire the fusion of good heavy music with a strong background message or meaning. And that, my dear metalheads, is the true essence of heavy music and everything we should always look for when in pursuit of new or unique names in the underground metal scene like Helevorn.

Author: Gustavo Scuderi
Review
Twilight
7/10
23.01.2019

Bei Spanien denkt der Nordeuropäer ja immer zuerst an Sommer, Sonne, Strand. Doch weit gefehlt. Das Land bietet um einiges mehr, und zwar überaus düsteren, schwermütigen, gothigen Doom Metal. Die Band, die sich der Schwermut, der Sehnsucht und der Niedergeschlagenheit verschrieben hat, nennt sich HELEVORN, ist schon fast zwanzig Jahre im Geschäft und kann in keiner Weise verleugnen, dass sie in der Tradition von Bands wie DRACONIAN, den melancholischen PARADISE LOST oder auch MY DYING BRIDE stehen.

Dementsprechend werden infernale Growl mit gefühlvollen klaren Gesängen kombiniert, bisweilen verleihen female Vocals den Songs das besondere Etwas in puncto Tiefe und Intensität. Das gilt auch für die Keyboards, die gekonnt für eine melancholisch funerale Atmosphäre sorgen und dabei eindrucksvoll die Klippen des Too-much und der Kitschigkeit umschiffen. Hammer.

Schön doomig und entschleunigend ist zumeist das Tempo, das aber immer wieder auch Fahrt aufnimmt und so ein mitreißendes Auf- und Ab der Gefühle garantiert. Gänsehautmomente gibt es dann, wenn die zerbrechlich wirkende weibliche Stimme das Regiment übernimmt wie in 'The Path To Puya'. Dass man auch etwas von brachialen, fordernden Riffs versteht, stellt der Opener 'A Sail To Sanity' unter Beweis, ein Track, der seine PARADISE-LOSTsche Martialität nicht leugnen kann, auch wenn es neben der melodischen Eingängigkeit auch ein Mehr an atmosphärischer Nachdenklichkeit gibt.

Eine etwas ruhigere Sehnsuchtshymne liegt mit 'Goodbye, Hope' vor, wohingegen 'Aurora' zunächst morgenländliche Einflüsse zur Geltung bringt, ehe eine unglaubliche Hymnik, die immer wieder in umwirtliche Rauheit eingebettet wird, den Track vielleicht zu dem Highlight des Albums macht. Ein wahrer Jahrhundertsong! 'Mare Nostrum' (lat.: unser Meer) nannten die alten Römer das Mittelmeer, das in der Mitte ihres gewaltigen Weltreiches lag. Der dazugehörige Song ist ein atmosphärisches, nachdenkliches Kleinod, nicht nur, weil auch die verschiedenen Sprachen der Anrainerstaaten zum Einsatz kommen. Im Gegensatz dazu ist 'Once Upon A War' titelmäßig natürlich um einiges martialischer.

Fazit: Die Spanier von HELEVORN legen mit ihrem nunmehr vierten Longplayer „Aamamata“ einen überaus vielfältigen Longplayer vor, der eine genuin eigene Spielart des Doom-Metal zelebriert, der sich durch ein Mehr an sehnsuchtsvoller, melancholischer Wehmut und an variabler, atmosphärischer Nachdenklichkeit auszeichnet, aber auch unverkennbar in der Tradition von Bands wie DRACONIAN oder die melodischen PARADISE Lost steht.

Author: Kersten Lison
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