Memory and Destiny

I know that M-A reviews need a certain length to be accepted. Generally speaking, I share this point of view. Nevertheless, some albums can actually be described sufficiently with a few words. In the case of Graveland's "Memory and Destiny", these words are "epic", "heroic" and "majestic". The gigantic gatekeeper of Valhalla has opened the doors and lets us in.

The album puts the focus on mid-tempo and atmosphere. The sounds of crying seagulls and breaking waves generate a natural aura and the almost monotonous background choirs add the suitable degree of grandeur. Instead of delivering surprising twists and turns, Rob Darken prefers to offer mesmerizing sound collages. The dense production underlines this approach. It is transparent, heavy and encompassing. Everything is well-balanced with the effect that the guitar does not play the leading role. But it also does not fall by the wayside. Instead, it is on a par with the keyboards that contribute a symphonic touch. All in all, the production guarantees an intense listening experience.

Of course, those of you who do not like Darken's approach in general will hate this work, too. The songs of "Memory and Destiny" could be leftovers of "Creed of Iron", not in terms of quality, but in terms of style. Honestly spoken, I cannot say that this fact bothers me. I rather think that reliability is a strong value and it is good to see that Darken is of the same opinion. Consequently, the here presented five tracks form a strong unit. It is remarkable that the album has neither highlights nor low points - the songs flow seamlessly into each other and the overall impression is decisive. Their sprawling configurations create an almost celestial feeling and the slow-moving melodies combine heaviness and persistence in an exciting manner. The rare breaks are effective and despite their lengths of nine minutes and more, the single pieces are not too long. Darken does not enter the stage with insubstantial tunes and his in-depth understanding of efficient harmonies is one of the advantages of this work. At the same time, the raw and growling voice reminds us of his black metal roots. This means that "Memory and Destiny" does not reveal a polished or nice side of Graveland. The album has enough metallic elements to attack the listener with its subliminal violence and mythical elements ("Jewel of Atlanteans") are also not missing.

I have to mention a further element of Graveland's sound. It goes without saying that "Memory and Destiny" conveys this typical archaic aura which has become a trademark of the band during its career. Endless caravans of armoured warriors pass by in front of the inner eye. They walk a burdensome path, but their grim faces express the determination to achieve their goal. No doubt, Rob Darken himself has already reached his aim. "Memory and Destiny" is not the best full-length of Graveland, but it reflects the musical vision of a man with clearly defined ambitions. Therefore, I recommend this album to all of you who like medieval anthems without fairly ridiculous Viking choirs.

In the early 90s Graveland were one of the darkest black metal bands on the planet. Albums like The Celtic Winter and Carpathian Wolves conjure the most evil and violent feelings. At the time, no one would have imagined there would be a Graveland album that would be described as “beautiful.” However, that is exactly what Memory and Destiny is; an absolutely gorgeous and majestic piece of symphonic metal.

Memory and Destiny is Graveland’s 3rd full length in the symphonic metal style. While the prior two albums focus on the blood and glory of the battlefield, Memory and Destiny is themed around the seafaring, tales of the Lost City of Atlantes and other nautical mythology. The entire album has a fluid feel to it, as if the music were ascending from the heart of the sea. All the instruments have a somewhat muted tone, which softens the edge of everything, causing the instruments to bleed into each other. Yet, if you look closer, there is a wealth of keyboard tones in play. There are heavenly choirs, deep string instruments, bright horns and an authentic hurdy-gurdy sound. Once again, Rob opts to use a deep oboe tone for bass as opposed to an actual bass guitar, which adds a lot of girth to the music. Epic riffs provide a foundation around which the synths ebb and flow. The drums play big, thunderous pasterns that mimic the steady rhythm of waves.

The compositions are big, epic pieces that center on two or three ravishing melodies. While there are a few aggressive passages, by and large Memory and Destiny is focused on creating the most divine sounds fathomable. The quality of the melodies is of the highest caliber. The execution is perfect, with all the layers of synths and guitars creating a massive orchestral force. All five tracks are quite excellent, but “Legion of Giants” is a cut above the others. Deep riffs and sturdy drums create a steady foundation while female choirs chant ambrosial tunes. The pace builds in such a way that it feels as if you’re being lifted out of the ocean and into the heavens.

Memory and Destiny is an album that is often overlooked in the Graveland discography; however it is one of Rob’s most intelligent works. The compositions possess great depth and layering that gives the lustrous melodies borderline overwhelming power. The production can make the music seem a little nebulous at first. A lot of the layers are hard to distinguish during the first few listens. However, Memory and Density is definitely a creeper. The more you listen to it, the more you gain from it. In time it shows itself to be one of the most pretty extreme metal albums you’ll ever find.

(Originally written for http://deinos-logos.blogspot.com/)

Many listeners have overlooked this album, sandwiched as it is between two of the band's least inspired works (Creed of Iron and The Fire of Awakening), but they are missing out on one of Graveland's most sublime and majestic works. Darken has gotten so prolific since 1998(when he essentially became a solo artist) that the sheer volume of his output has become overwhelming to many. Although some may feel that Graveland has stagnated since Immortal Pride due to the digitally uniform sound textures of his newer works(and Darken spending more time on Lord Wind, whose excellent Atlantean Monument album easily rivals most Graveland records), there is actually a surprising amount of variation in his post-1998 output, and this disc is one of the real gems of the later era.


The style exhibited on Memory and Destiny is characterized by cyclical melodies that bring to mind traditional European folk songs, which I'm sure is what Darken had in mind. The melodies, while not overly complex, feel very "complete" and the songs exhibit a strong yin and yang, gently building into a crescendo before receding into the distance. The tempos are relaxed and the melodies flow into each other easily. There is little of the pounding fury of later albums like Fire Chariot of Destruction(an excellent record in its own right); in fact, this could be described as Graveland's most atmospheric and "ambient" record, and probably the closest in style to his work with Lord Wind. It never really brings the fury, but is more on the calm and contemplative side of things. Few black metal artists have explored this avenue, so it's very interesting and refreshing to hear someone as talented as Darken taking a stab at it. Most of the songs do take a while to get going, but if you hang in there to the middle of the song you will be rewarded with some truly spine tingling moments, as in the title track and Legion of Giants.


I really enjoyed this album, although it took a while to grow on me. You really have to give it time and listen to it in the proper context. I would recommend it to fans of Summoning, "Twilight of the Gods"-era Bathory, and the Lord Wind side project.

Black metal as a genre, and bands who use its sound in whole or part, seem to either go two ways:

1) Keep to a rigid system of kvlt, crude sounding walls of noise with shrieks and growls aplenty, often pointlessly and arrogantly refusing to veneer even slightly from their sound....

2)Start of using said rigid system but in time, add variety and progressive overtones, maybe even keyboards, whilst still keeping the core intact and not forgetting why they started writing these fetid onslaughts of human destruction and putrefecation.

Here we have Graveland's sixth full-length album, and no prizes for guessing which route they took. Taking the road less travelled by has made all the difference since their Hitler-obsessed beginnings on 'The Celtic Winter' et al, and from that journey emerges 'Memory And Destiny'.

The five tracks on offer here, each in or around the ten-minute mark, are all finely crafted pieces of ambient pagan metal. Black metal riffs take a distant back seat and the valkyrie choir makes another welcome appearance in what is extremely reminicent of a more metal sounding Clannad and a folkier Primordial. In other words, it's very Irish sounding and has an unequivocally Celtic aura and atmosphere about it, almost entirely unlike anything they've done before and since. It's a lot easier on the ears, but packs no less a punch for it, and openner 'Fate Of Warrior' hits you hard whilst still leaving you uninjured and still intruiged by what the rest of the journey has to offer.

If you like your Darkthrone to sound Darkthrone, then you might not like the prospect of sitting through an hour of metalled-up ambient folk ballads too much. But a listen to this album, or even the phenomenal title-track, should derail you from your senses. If it doesn't, well, stick with the error-free brand of 'kvlter than thou' blackness and never learn.