Arystokracja ducha

The clunky conglomerate of ideologies collected together under the Norwegian scene was always something a pick and mix free-for-all. Compelling as it was, extracting a coherent narrative thread from the loose ends of interviews and retrospects is a fool’s errand. Later abandoned by most of the originators in favour of the dollar, it left Varg as the lonely scholar of nationalism, heathenism, and the correct way to prepare a bowl of cereal. By contrast, the Polish scene took its ideology seriously from the off, as an essential component of the music. Graveland wove nationalism and Wotanism into their musical tapestry, sealing their fate as a controversial mainstay of black metal collections. But Darken’s unapologetic mix of raw musical abrasion with epic soundscapes is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Polish black metal. So let’s delve a little deeper into a scene that offered a degree of purity not afforded by other scenes placed under greater scrutiny.

‘Arystokracja ducha’ (and Gontyna Kry at large) embodies the best and worst aspects of Eastern European black metal. The National Socialist ideology that has permeated and haunted the output of artists in this corner of the globe sadly finds its articulation in this outfit. But accompanying these extreme ideals is highly accessible, folk influenced black metal, with a touch of progressive death metal influence in many of the guitar leads (as an aside, it often surprises those new to the phenomenon of NSBM that a lot of the music is pretty accessible by black metal standards; either pop punk covers of Nazi anthems or borderline Disney music with distorted vocals). The polished production values, and highly melodic nature of this music could not be further removed from Gontyna Kry’s fellow countrymen Veles, Graveland, or Cultes des Ghoules.

Bouncy and rhythmically diverse tracks that call to mind early Nokturnal Mortum in their reference to pre-Christian folk traditions that paradoxically find their articulation through highly synthetic instrumentation. The drums are programmed, the keyboards have that highly synthetic quality to them, with absolutely no pretence of aspiring to the instrument they are allegedly imitating. But as with Nokturnal Mortum, if the music itself is colourful enough it will transcend such trivial limitations. And ‘Arystokracja ducha’ certainly does that. The compositions are rich with musical history, the emotional range reaches to the epic, the triumphant, to the dark, aggressive, and mournful.

This is achieved largely through Gontyna Kry‘s disciplined marshalling of a broad range of traditions and influences, both old and new. The sincerity of the folk melodies, and the bouncy rhythms that accompany them shine through regardless of the highly artificial production values. In this regard they are not unlike Summoning in terms of sonic philosophy. But as mentioned there are plenty of progressive influences in the mix as well, which especially inform the lead guitar work, and the rich synths that accompany them on tracks like the interlude ‘Biel i czerwień’. This also informs many of the riffs, which shun the sweeping tremolo picking of Northern European black metal in favour of tight, angular, convoluted chord structures. The guitars are catered towards this end, being a crisp, clear tone with absolutely no lag.

This album attemps to meld black metal and progressive metal, with folk and Celtic influences along the way, similar to what Nokturnal Mortum achieved with ‘The Voice of Steel’. The paradox of the latter being the highly artificial environment that the music is actually shaped in as far Gontyna Kry are concerned. The power of the music managers to outshine said environment however, and takes on a life of its own through its boundless energy and creativity.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

Gontyna Kry is one of the most enduring of the Polish black metal bands, having formed some 15 years past. Arystokracja Ducha is only the 3rd full-length, and the band currently consists of only one man, Bard, who performs all the instruments. This is an impressive feat, because the music here is tastefully complex and well-structured, a hybrid of black and progressive death metal with some pagan folk influence, sweeping orchestral atmospheres, and excellent solo work.

"Czas Wendów" is a flowing acoustic intro with synth atmosphere, it's quite nice like the lapping of waves on a northern shore, and then some spoken folk before the album bursts into the glorious black speed of "Lucicowa dusza", a labyrinth of gothic pagan riffing, atmospheric layers coagulating about its fiendish, melodic black heart. "Mistyczny zywiol wojny" is a mid-paced track with some insane double bass (drum machine I'm assuming?) under its lavish tapestry of wisdom and mystique. The rest of the album is of a similar quality, with some other nice instrumental pieces such as "Biel i czerwieñ". If you can imagine a Polish version of Therion but with more technical guitar work and less choirs, you might be in the right frame of mind, though there are enough differences.

The album sounds quite nice, especially the guitar tone and the tasteful layers of synth. The vocals have a desperate black curdling to them, and the acoustics on the album are excellent throughout. Many bands of this ilk are still caught in the super raw rehearsal style of production, but Gontyna Kry has a professional and vibrant approach to its sound. If you are into well-honed pagan/NSBM and don't mind some influence of death or gothic metal, then Arystokracja Ducha is an album certainly worth your time, and the best I've heard yet from this veteran act.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

As it could be expected by anyone that gave a listen to their previous album, Gontyna Kry comes forth now with a new album, filled with new sounds, as far away as they could be from works such as Welowie and Krew Naszych Ojcow. This death-influenced piece is not to be overlooked though, because it sure as hell is worthy of a place among the previously mentioned masterpieces.

This time around, we get 9 completely new tracks filled with speed, agressivity, melody, ambient and folky moments. The music obviously follows the same style as the previous album, clean but heavy guitar tones and a good dose of keyboards for that ambient/martial attitude Gontyna still holds. The drumming seems to be more agressive than it has ever been, and faster than ever too.

Since the previous album is kind of a renewal of the 2001 album Krew Naszych Ojcow, I kinda consider it to be more of a preview for this very album, which would completely open this new chapter in Gontyna Kry's history, one that hopefully will last long. Taking that in count I could say that this album feels way more solid and sure-of-itself, so to speak. Overall this album is filled with a new and fresh spirit, great melodies and memorable moments, an even kind of epic feeling overall and all the black aggresivity one could ask from a national socialist polish black-death metal act. Highly recommended.