Whitemare Rhymes

Folk metal might be charming thing for some of us, but all in all it is a quite predictable genre. Once you have looked into it a bit, new bands or releases are unlikely to surprise you. For example Eluveitie are deeming themselves as the first band doing the “new wave of folk metal”, but what they do is far away from being groundbreaking. Combining shallow melodeath with, admittedly a lot of different, ethnic instruments is nothing inherently ‘innovative’, because you have to be substantially different from others to constitute a “new wave” and Eluveitie are clearly not. All right, I admit that Trollfest qualify as unusual and even surprising sometimes, but a couple of wacky ideas put together incoherently is not enough, even if they do have some redeeming qualities. However, I would eventually discover a gem that holds up the banner of inspiring folk metal.

In the beginning of 2008 I noticed that the Austrian label CCP Records, mostly having black and death metal bands under contract, had signed Wolfmare releasing ‘Whitemare Rhymes’. On first sight cover and song titles show no evidence of the quality of the music, but after several listens it is clear that it is a remarkable piece of work. Wolfmare cover a lot of different themes and moods throughout the album, musically as well as lyrically, yet nothing feels out of place or not part of the whole thing. The only guitarist provides the needed heaviness with solid riffs, apart from that there’re only two or three short leads, but that does not matter since a couple of other instruments take on the melodic work. With violin, cello, bagpipe, mandolin and whistles the band is very well equipped to produce a variety of melodies, sometimes resembling Celtic folk music, sometimes there’s more of a continental European sound to it, quite similar to German bands like In Extremo, or so-called “Mittelalter metal/rock”.

Besides the rich folk instrumentations the vocals are in the forefront. A well-balanced mix of three different styles is performed by four vocalists. The two women out of eight band members do a great job at handling the female vocal parts (they are also responsible for keyboards and cello, respectively). Their voices are gentle, but not too soft and their typical Russian accent just sounds goddamn sexy. The male counterpart is equally talented; he has a clear and comprehensible baritone and the perfect voice for a teller or tales or a minnesinger of the Middle Ages. That may sound odd at first, but when you consider song titles like “The Ballad of Jolly Hangman”, “Widdershins Song” and “Mourning of the King” it is plausible. Another interesting thing about him is that he seemingly tries not to have any distinct accent at all. He mostly succeeds, occasionally it sounds slightly forced, though, but luckily that does not take anything away from the experience and remains a minor flaw. Then there are also harsh vocals, predominantly a raspy black metal caw which is rather intelligible. In addition, Keith Fay and Karen Gillian of Cruachan contribute in small doses as guests, so there really is a huge set of different vocals adding a lot to the already diversified album.

There is nothing to find fault with the drummer. He does not stand out too much, but he always knows what fits best for a certain part and does not try to attract attention disproportionately. Same goes for the bass, it is audible, but the bassist confines himself to take on rhythmic duties, exclusively. It is safe to say that this album has an amazing production, everything can be clearly heard and even when five or six instruments are used at once the sound is not muddy in the slightest, but powerful and crisp. Wolfmare have already tapped their full potential, it seems. I just cannot imagine how they could top what they created here, but they are certainly capable of writing more music of the same calibre. Give this octet from Saint Petersburg a try and you will be pleasantly surprised.