Raventale - Давно Ушедших Дней (Long Passed Days) (CD)

Review
Zwaremetalen
8.4/10
02.03.2009

Tijd voor tijdloosheid. Raventale uit Oekraïne stuurt ons hun beste wensen, inclusief hun tweede album Long Passed Days. Een goede zaak dat toch de naam niet in dat vreemde schrift stond, anders hadden we er allemaal het raden naar om welke plaat het ging. Raventale is Astaroth, hij speelt doom en black.

Wat wel meer het geval is bij bands uit Oekraïne (en Rusland) zijn de lang uitgesponnen soundscapes. Herhaling, ondersteuning door stille maar felle keys, epiek en het momentum van de basgitaar laten varen op de tikken van de metronoom. De doom die dat creëert is meermaals een indrukwekkend product. Raventale slaagt er in om dat over te brengen, in een spontane en ongeforceerde manier. Deze beladen methodiek heeft veel weg van het vroegste stadium van Anathema. Dat steekt Raventale ook helemaal niet weg, daar ze het nummer Sunset of The Age van Anathema's The Silent Enigma coveren. Eigenlijk verschilt het niet zoveel van de andere nummers op Long Passed Days. Prima keuze dus, en mooi gebracht. Het geeft ook mooi weer dat er ondanks de melodie veel melancholie in deze plaat zit (check From The Black Wells Of Time op de MySpace).

Er zit ook een black aspect aan. De grunt/scream is bedroevend zwart en distorted, zeker naast het gemijmer van het poëtisch woord. En er zitten snellere stukken in, de percussie heeft de drang naar altijd iets meer viriliteit, als een gecontroleerde agressie. Een passief-agressieve plaat dus, die er best mag zijn. Bravo.

Author: Bart Alfvoet

Review
The Metal Observer
8.5/10
27.03.2009

Sometimes while listening to music I am wondering how it is possible that certain groups become extremely popular while others, not lacking in musical workshop nor interesting ideas, remain in the shadow creating their stuff for a relatively small circle of recipients. The Ukrainian one-man band RAVENTALE seems to be a good illustration for these words. Two years would pass before the second work from this talented ensemble called “Davno Ushedshikh Dney” could be published and perhaps this time their music will reach a wider audience.

In comparison to RAVENTALE’s debut only certain slight changes have been introduced. The majority of this material is recorded still in the vein of “Na Chrustalnych Kaczeniach” including sounds of nature, dirty and at the same time massive guitar riffs, sluggish pace and the keyboards, which superbly accentuate the longing and sorrowful soul of Astaroth’s music. On the other hand it feels as if his vocals were somewhat altered, being now more strident and venomous. Another change is to be noticed as the second track kicks off. Its clearly rapider tempo has some associations with Black Metal bands incorporating Goth aesthetics like CRADLE OF FILTH for instance. After a few whiles, though, the things are back on the “usual” RAVENTALE course, which takes us on a down-tempo journey through the never-ending landscapes of nature and human loneliness.

The Ukrainian’s music has already before been compared to what KATATONIA have achieved within melodic Doom Metal, but only the second to last song really gives grounds to such judgments. In fact the initial melodies of this track are as if fashioned directly by the Swedish band (perhaps excluding the hoarse singing). Another famous band that in a way is involved in “Davno Ushedshikh Dney” is the English ANATHEMA, though, in this case it is only for the reason of Astaroth placing their cover on the track-list. A fan of this group would surely notice it but otherwise “Sunset Of The Age” seems to be just another good RAVENTALE effort.

The result of the production process is definitely satisfying as the one in charge of it managed to balance most properly the heavily distorted guitars and the keyboard section. The latter are nearly omnipresent, yet never tend to be too insistent making the music tacky. Another interesting thing is that while RAVENTALE play Doom you will probably almost never pay attention to the drum department as the great cooperation of the filthy six-stringers with the spatial synths simply put it in the shade. At the same time it is worth noticing that none of the instruments is inaudible, though obviously this is not what a maniac of sound selectiveness would expect.

The Ukrainian group have released another solid CD and proved that their music is worth attention not only from devoted fans of Doom Metal but generally from listeners who appreciate melancholic sound and mood of highest quality.

Author: Sebastian

Review
Live4metal

Fucking hellski. For those of you not as exposed as I have been to Russian doom of late, the iron curtain may well be down, but the misery remains. Bad Mood Man music is the subsidiary label of the Slavic misery-mongers Solitude Productions, usually reserved for those bands that might have one toe in the pool of doom, but otherwise defy the genre conventions. Now, when your kindly Uncle Steve sent me the description of Raventale as “blackened doom”, it is fair to say that my interest was peaked. Turns out I had no idea just how engrossing this album is.
Firstly, the biographical bits. Raventale are a Ukrainian outfit – though to be strictly
correct, this is actually entirely the work of one man – the wonderfully monikered “Astaroth”. I can only assume that he isn't the immense axe-wielding bastard from the Soul Calibur series of games, though of course one can never be too sure with the general air of mystery that pervades such solo-offerings. It would appear that Raventale did indeed used to be some kind of black metal outfit, and indeed some of those trappings still appear on this album. There are rasping, hoarse vocals and a general concentration on atmosphere, but really, that's where the black metal influence seems to end. That's ok for me, because the forest-skulking panda-faces are generally as appealing to me as being impaled on a nail ridden spike. This also isn't doom, exactly, though the pace is somewhat leaden throughout, and the general mood is fucking miserable.
Thick, weaving riffs run throughout, while tasteful and sublime keyboard and electronic soundscapes conjure audio pictures in the mind. This is a journey into the far reaches of the subconscious. These are epic compositions, constructing vast vistas of sound through combinations of simple, woven guitars. Coming at you somewhere between Katatonia circa “Brave Murder Day”, Anathema at their most progressive and the epic bombast of Ereb Altor, this is some seriously engaging stuff. At a mere six songs, you'll be left hungering for more, but then this could well be the stepping stone to bigger and better things. Also, kudos to any band that dares to cover a track as mammoth as “Sunset of the Age” and actually improve on the original – a track that is one of my favourites on “The Silent Enigma”. This album may not be silent, but it certainly is enigmatic. A quiet magic lies on this shiny disc.

Author: Chris Davison