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 Бумага – она все стерпит. Что только не написано по сети в откликах на этот альбом! В моем случае в роли главного дезинформатора выступила не чужая рецензия, а вкладыш от CD-Maximum, лаконично сообщивший о наличии на диске «сырого блэк-метала в духе первого альбома, с использованием фолк-элементов». Да, Waylander остался собой, но и измениться ровно настолько, чтобы позволить «…Endless Knot» быть продолжением дебюта. Возможно, не настолько ярким, как вышеупомянутый, но уже другим, что и означает: «наследовать». Ирландия за прошедшие несколько лет стала старше на солидное по количеству (да и по качеству) число альбомов, и ныне броские фолк-мелодии отошли в прошлое группы. Основа музыки – инструментальный состав, не претерпел изменений: по-прежнему, среди гитар и драмсов задействованы флейта и акустическая гитара. Материал подобран более тяжелый и грубый (вполне возможно, имеющий отношение к корням группы), однако несет в себе те же эмоции, что и дебют: чистую, без намека на пошлость, печаль акустических отрывков и ярость боевых маршевых барабанов. Только скриминг исчез. Тот из братьев О’Хаган, что Киаран, рычит исключительно гроулингом. Вот и получается такой самобытный, но в тоже время слегка знакомый по работам Primordial, экстрим-метал без явной классификации. Лишенный элитного привкуса, но несущий влияние классического дума и языческих традиций, со «смертельной» взвесью на дне. К середине альбома происходит кратковременный экскурс на предыдущий диск, чему свидетели заглавная композиция (3) и «Morrigans Domain» (5), способная стать моей любимой. Релиз обернут в скромное, но не вызывающее неприятия качество звука, и единственное, что достойно сомнения, это нежелание музыкантов заигрывать со слушателем экспрессивными неистовством «Reawaking Pride Once Lost». Слушать «The Light, the Dark and the Endless Knot» без предварительного знакомства со старшим братом не рекомендуется. Кстати, этот самый «замкнутый узел» - кельтская вязь, и изображен на обложке.
А теперь, может быть, кто-нибудь мне объяснит, при чем тут Cruahan? |
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Dominate de Danann, strip away then pride
Threat them like tenants, there's no place to hide
A tribute collected, heads hung in disgrace
Hollow eyes of defeat, proud race losing face.
Balor - Evil Eye
One look - you will die
Balor - Evil Eye
Unleashed - strangled cry.
There's one spark amongst the dying embers
Born to ignite red passions raging
Lugh Samildeanach, true inspiration
Equilibrium by sword and sorcery.
Chaos king meets prince of light
Fulfilling omens of foresight
'Twas written blood must slay blood
Symbolic duel, redress the balance.
Sword of Light
Quell the darkness
Shield of order
Vanquish the chaos
2. Anu's Retribution
Manipulating Earth's magic without giving in return
Consequences most dire, making even powerful men squirm
Mankind is forever the vermin infesting this world
Feel the sheer rage of Anu's retribution unfurled.
Eruption in the air - water cascading
Tilting of the land - mountains toppling
Winds whipping and lashing - hurricane
Screaming and raging - pouring rain
Rivers rising and rustling - tidal wave
Drowned bodies strewn - unmarked grave
Slowly suffocate the Goddess
Have you no conscience at all?
Doomsday bells are chiming
Anu regenerates, mankind falls
Global destruction, unprecedented scales
Disasters as natural as lady Anu's reign
Man has sown seeds of poison everywhere
Time for Anu to reap is now close at hand.
Cleansing her domain to prepare for millenniums new
Survival solution, all diseases must be cured
The elements always harken to Anu's call
Vengeance belongs to Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire
3. The Light, The Dark And The Endless Knot
The light and the dark, a marriage eternal
Sundrenched, exultant, darkclad yet infernal
Chaos or order, evil or good
Definitions abound, clear cut yet confusing.
Birth, youth, maturity, and death
Wheel of life keeps turning
Immortal species spiralling forever
Can never unravel the endless knot.
Perceptions - one man's dream
Perceptions - another man's nightmare
Perceptions - follow your own path
Perceptions - countless possibilities
Give way to instinctive urges
Alter ego wells within
Reaction to the conscience
A force too powerful to deny
Try to pacify the rage
Darker side is part of you
A device for your survival
Essential, not altogether evil.
Ofttimes I dance in the light
On occasion I stalk the dark
Light and dark, day and night
My soul enshrined, dual delight.
Who can say what is light and what is dark?
Mankind perceives life to satisfy his own desires
Yet, the wheel turns, the seasons fall And unabated the knot continues its
endless journey
Of life and death.
4. To Rule Was Preordained
Responsibility is the last thing on his mind
Identity crisis enforced by his peers
Got to run away to save freedom of choice
Cheating destiny to alleviate leadership fears.
Wasting time to sate his selfish desires
Disconnecting all ties with what has went before
Not one man will die under his command
Constant dilemma, chilling to the core.
And by an amazing twist of fate
All paths lead to destiny
Irreversible situation arising
No honourable man would flee.
He was birthed beneath a waxing moon
Beltaine's festival of fire the time
The wise and holy men proclaimed
That all the signs were prophecied
To rule was preordained
Written in the stars
To rule was preordained
Magic in the air
To rule was preordained
Born to reign
To rule was preordained
Born to rule
Enforced training from his youth
Time to face inevitable truth
To be the fire attracting the flies
His enemies come and many will die
5. Morrigan's Domain
Black id the Morrigan on this plain
Dark is her aspect, no remorse or shame
Washer at the ford for those who can see
The crone and the hag, goddess trinity.
Goddess of war, denizen of death
Seeker of souls,
She awaits your last breath...
Nightmare visions, choked with the bodies of the slain
Rivers run red, ravens alight on mounds of lifeless forms
Feasting horribly on carrion and broken bones,
Once proud men, someone's sons and brothers all.
Where now is the glory in your war
No glory in your war
No glory in the grave
Hear the shriek of the Morrigan
As she circles preparing to dine,
To dine upon the slaughtered souls
To feast on fresh dead flesh
Triumphant scream of ecstasy
Exultant in the misery
Wallow in the pain
Putrid stench of entrails and emptied bowels
Morrigan's minions glut on unseeing eyes
A picture painted in detail so obscene
Morrigan greets all those souls who die.
Eternal war she craves
Battles unceasing
Combatants increasing
Sweet stench of blood on the wind
Dishevelled warriors, expressions grotesque
Dismembered bodies, expressions grotesque
Her in her glory, goddess of war
Her in her glory, Morrigan's domain.
6. After The Fall
Chaos - signs in the sky
Ruins - seas will rise
Drowning - a watery grave
Demise - immortals to die
After the fall
Atlantis sunk not killing them all
After the fall
Lords of foresight did flee
After the fall
Knowledge gathered aeons old
After the fall
Preserve all illuminated lore
On crafts of mystic arts they came
Borne by the wind
On the crest of a wave they rode
Children of the sun
Across the oceans East and West
Seeking chosen lands
To be guide to the race of man
Welcome magical fleet
Be they of the Heavens
Be they of the Earth
Be they sons of demons
Be they sons of man
Wherever they go, civilization will grow
Enlightened thoughts, pupils to be taught
Figures of awe, deities to be
Chosen emerald shore, De Danann roar!!
7. Release The Spirit Within
Come sit with me
In this circle of stones
And dream
Journey with me.
Hear the leaves they rustle
See but cannot really see
A presence in a dependent slumber
Alike a door without a key.
Seeking, searching
Doubt an emotion I now leave behind
Seeking, searching
Fear an emotion I no longer comprehend.
Music primal and soaring
Drumbeat of the universe
Eerie cosmic winds singing
The sighing of unborn stars.
Focused to the ultimate point of trance
I march to the tune of eternity's dance.
I navigate my own flight
Engrained thoughts, my insight
To leave behind my earthly shell
Delve deep within my depthless well.
Flying through the astral plain
Unsure if you're insane
Echoes from the world of man
Dizzying distortions of space and time
Time has no meaning anymore
Begin to forget from whence you've come
Allow true power of thought to create
That which is reflected in your hear
I was the seeker
MAny paths I have thread
I know now reality
Not what I've read.
I am the master of my own mind
I am the master of my own destiny.
8. Plague Of Ages
There are many nations in this wide wide world
There are many religions in this wide wide world
Some people they worship, and others they do not
Some worship in private, others ram it down your throat!!
The waste is so terrible which has eaten at our hearts
The land has been tarnished, old beliefs have been robbed
Religions of past millennium, mythomania and fear Replacing ancient deities,
with their false gods.
A thousand witches died
So they burnt ten thousand more
Heretics become fair game
Anointed in their own blood
No rhyme or no reason
For their self obsessive beliefs
Utter contempt to their faith
We'll neither forgive nor forget.
They spread their disease throughout many a nation
With their silvery tongues, they established their lies
The life that was noble, so fierce and so proud
Has been stolen from us, truth and honour denied.
Brainwashed of the Nazarene, zealots of Islam
Believe or be damned, obey the great scam
Plague of the Ages, decaying man's soul
Eternal stagnation, their selfish goal
Are you the one to obey the great scam??