Reviews: SODP119
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Most of the releases we’ve been covering from Satananth Records have been from the death metal genre, but now we’re starting to dip into their black metal catalog with the atmospheric band Donarhall. The mastermind behind the instrumental project, Eugen Kohl (also known as Gnev) released the first album Misanthrope back in 2017, and the project evolved from raw black metal into a more melodic approach with subsequent releases.
Made up eight tracks or “soundtracks,” Helvegr is Donarhall’s latest offering. Each song contains a character and poem that weave fantastical soundscapes only limited by one’s imagination. The one we’re sharing with you today is “Vagr,” an ominous slower song more akin to melodic doom metal. Scroll down to listen.
https://www.indymetalvault.com/2019/06/10/track-premiere-donarhall-vagr/
You know, in looking back at how I’ve started some of these recent track premieres – I think there’s an outside chance that I’m getting grouchy in my old age, because there’s a lot of shit that I’m either skeptical of flat-out don’t like.
Here are two more: German black metal and atmospheric black metal.
When it comes to the black stuff, I like it raw – Occelensbrigg, Pa Vesh En, Black Cilice, etc. German black metal is not raw – most of it is austere virtually to the point of being antiseptic. And atmospheric black metal…don’t get me started on what passes for ‘atmospheric’ these days.
You know what I do like, though? Sinister Downfall’s debut Eremozoic, which Funere Records released late last year. Eugen Kohl, the lone member of that particular funeral doom project, is much better known as a black metal musician, and Donarhall is the project with which he’s been most prolific. With Helvegr, his fifth full-length under the Donarhall banner, due out on June 25 from Symbol of Domination Productions (preorder here) and Black Metal Propaganda Deutschland, we’re stoked to be premiering “Hyrr” here today at Clandestine Sounds.
One thing you need to know up front: Donarhall is an instrumental project. However, I was about five minutes into “Hyrr” before the absence of vocals really even registered. The textures that Kohl – or Gnev, as he calls himself with this project – creates with his style of riffing actually makes me thankful that they aren’t competing with vocals for space in the mix. I’m sure you’ll agree after checking out the track below.
https://www.clandestinesounds.com/track-premiere-donarhall-hyrr
Amis du silence, au revoir .. Ou plutôt non, restez donc un peu, vous n'êtes peut être pas au mauvais endroit après tout. Helvegr, du groupe allemand Donarhall est construit, selon l'aveu des compositeurs, comme la lecture de huit poèmes ( en huit pistes cqfd) ou le chant s’efface pour laisser place à une musique total faites dans le but avoué de stimuler l'imagination de l'auditeur.
Cela évoquera selon les personnes bien des choses différentes, tant la palette musical est riche. Certain y verront les grands espaces naturels, immaculés, préservés de la souillure de l'homme, et d'autre peut être y verront de la violence, du désespoir, vue que le moins qu'on puisse dire, c'est que c'est parfois loin d'être joyeux.
Finalement, là ou Donarhall aurait pu sortir un énième disque de black métal, honnête, correcte mais oubliable, le fait de laisser le chant s’effacer permet de laisser un blanc que doit combler l'auditeur, ce qui est la force de l'album. En stimulant l'imaginaire, on touche à ce qu'il y a de plus noble dans ce type de musique, offrir une main tendu à l'interprétation.
Helvegr est sortit sur le label Symbol Of Domination, pour les amateurs de ce genre de musique, je vous conseil d'aller fouiller dans leur catalogue.
ENGLISH:
Friends of silence, goodbye... Or rather no, stay a while, you may not be in the wrong place after all. Helvegr, by the German band Donarhall, is built, according to the composers' admission, like the reading of eight poems ( in eight cqfd tracks) where the singing is erased to give way to a pure music made with the declared aim of stimulating the listener's imagination.
Depending on the person, this will evoke many different things, as the musical palette is so rich. Some will see the great natural spaces, immaculate, preserved from human defilement, and others may see violence, despair, seeing that the least we can say is that it is sometimes far from being joyful.
Finally, where Donarhall could have released yet another black metal record, honest, correct but forgettable, letting the vocals fade away allows us to leave a blank that the listener must fill, which is the strength of the album. By stimulating the imagination, we touch the most noble part of this type of music, offering a helping hand to the performance.
Helvegr has been released on the label Symbol Of Domination, for lovers of this kind of music, I advise you to go and look through their catalogue.
https://blackboxbaby.blogspot.com/2019/09/donarhall-helvegr.html
Erneut bleiben wir in heimischen Landen, diesmal geht es nach Niedersachsen. Dort werkelt Gnev unter verschiedensten seit gut 3 Jahren an Musik und hat in dieser Zeit alleine mit sein Projekt Donarhall 5 Alben, eine EP und zwei Splits rausgehauen. Zwei dieser Alben waren bereits auf meine Blog vertreten und da kann man die neuste doch auch gleich mal besprechen. „Helvegr“ nennt sich das gute Stück und liefert erneut 8 Stücke instrumentalen Atmo Blacks.
Für die, die Donarhall schon länger verfolgen, wird es ein gutes Stück düster als auf den Vorgängern. Schon im Einstieg dominiert schwere Dunkelheit, die zuerst mehr an Doom, später dann doch immer mehr an Atmospheric Black Metal erinnert. Waren die anderen Alben noch recht kühl gehalten, baut sich hier eine wohlige Schwere auf, die mit vergleichsweise warmem Sound daher kommt und vor allem durch sein kraftvolles, aber langsames voranschreiten geprägt ist. So baut sich schnell eine druckvolle Gitarrenwand mit leichten Drone-Elemente auf, die bei jedem Gitarrenanschlag über dem Hörer zusammenbricht und so atmosphärische deutlich dunkler und gleichsam kompakter daher kommt als man es von dem Projekt gewohnt ist. Das ist allerdings auch gut so, denn instrumentale Musik wird (zumindest mir) schnell mal langweilig, wenn sich das gleiche Muster auf 10 Alben wiederfindet. Klar beherbergt das Album auch Einflüsse aus den anderen Alben und so gibt es zur dichten Gitarrenwand mit einfachem Drumming auch immer wieder melancholische und sehr melodische Leads, die sich aus der Wand abheben und der Musik einen sehr verspielten Anstrich gibt, hier und da wirken noch ein paar Keyboards mit, dem ganzen einen facettenreicheren und vielschichtigeren, voluminöseren Sound zu verpassen und folgen dabei meist den Leadgitarren oder sorgen ihrerseits für einen wabernden Klangteppich. Erneut schafft es Gnev sein Album sehr kompakt, rund und ausgewogen zu halten, die harscheren Gitarren geben einen schönen Ausgleich zum melodischen Riffing und kleineren Soli, das Drumming ist ebenfalls relativ abwechslungsreich und die Keyboards fügen hier und da ein paar interessante Sprenkel ein. So gehen die fast 50 Minuten schneller vorbei als einem lieb ist und auch das Fehlen der Vocals fällt einem erst beim zweiten Durchlauf auf.
Donarhall liefert erneut ein Album ab, das sich bewusst und gekonnt von seinen Vorgängern absetzt, den atmosphärisch dichten Aspekt noch weiter ins Zentrum rückt, dabei aber das melodische und verspielte nicht außer Acht lässt. Dementsprechend kann man auch „Helvegr“ jedem Fan des Atmospheric Black Metal nur ans Herz legen, vor allem wenn er eher die langsameren, kraftvolle Spielart bevorzugt.
https://metalviewer.wordpress.com/2019/08/21/donarhall-helvegr/
Donarhall are a solo project from Germany that plays an instrumental and atmospheric form of black metal and this is a review of his 2019 album "Helvegr" which was released as a joint effort between Symbol Of Domination and Black Metal Propaganda Deutschland.
Atmospheric sounding synths start off the album which also mixes in with the heavier sections of the music at times. Most of the tracks are very long and epic in length while the faster sections of the songs also bring in a great amount of tremolo picking and blast beats which also gives the music more of a raw feeling.
Throughout the recording you can also hear a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts while the solos and leads are done in a very melodic style. The riffs also add in a decent amount of melody along with a couple of tracks also introducing acoustic guitars onto the recording and as the album progresses a brief use of clean playing can also be heard and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them.
Donarhall plays a style of black emtal that is very aggressive, melodic and atmospheric sounding without ever using any vocals or song lyrics and the production sounds very professional.
In my opinion Donarhall are a very great sounding instrumental and atmospheric black metal solo project and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album.
https://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.com/2019/07/donarhallhelvegrsymbol-of.html
Donarhall just released the new record and I listened and reviewed it for this zine.
This is a one man project/band from the far northern reaches of Germany. Creature called Gnev is responsible for playing, composing and mixing the record. The music is basically atmospheric black metal and it is all instrumental, there are no vocals on this record.
The 8 songs on this record represent the musical voyage through the dark landscape of nature and inner void of time and space. The songs are pretty diverse, like slow and rolling beautiful Hyrr which creates almost post black metal vibe with slow drums, evil yet catchy guitar melody and I feel like floating through liquid darkness while listening to that song. There are also more faster and aggressive songs like majestic Heimr with blastbeats creating very much the despair, anger and sadness at the same time. The harshness is interwined with calmer and more ambiental passages like the beginning of Vagr which takes us into another sail onto nightmare seas. Sunna is also one of my favorite songs on this record with perfect measure between ambiental music and rolling guitar riffs with epic synth background. Not to discover just all, you will have to get this one and listen it for yourselves. Good one!
https://lanoirebestiaforeverunderground.wordpress.com/2019/07/26/review-donarhall-helvegr/
Inizialmente è stato difficile capire il disco. Certo cinque dischi in tre anni e meno di carriera può essere sintomo di poca qualità, anche se per quanto mi sia sforzato di non trovarne non ci sono riuscito. L’album, il quinto, di questa one man band è una sana prova di black strumentale d’atmosfera, né più né meno. Otto tracce molto orientate al black spinto, che strizzano l’occhio alla produzione iniziale di Burzum, con I dovuti ammodernamenti del suono. Non una parola viene pronunciata nel disco, basta a musica a parlare… e quello che dice non è rassicurante, è cupo e depressogena, riguarda cose brutte di cui forse è davvero meglio non parlare. Terre a noi vicine che si raccontano, foreste sterminane che di tanto in tanto ci sputano fuori lavori come questo.
http://www.metalhead.it/?p=167970
Deze instrumentale plaat staat bol van de intensieve, donkere soundscapes die aan je ribben blijven kleven.
Donarhall is het project van de Duitse multi-instrumentalist Gnev, die ook nog werken uitbracht onder andere pseudoniemen. Als Donarhall doet hij dat sinds 2016. Zijn muziek is doorgaans gedrenkt in atmosferische black metal. Het voornaamste pluspunt van dit album is het gevarieerde aanbod, iets dat zeker nodig is, als je met puur instrumentale muziek de aandacht van de luisteraar wil vasthouden.
In eerste instantie rammelt het aan alle hoeken en kanten in Byrdh, maar al snel wordt er overgegaan tot eerder intieme momenten, steeds binnen een dreigende omkadering. Vagr is aanvankelijk een eerder melodieuze song waarin we doomelementen menen te herkennen. Verderop worden dan alle registers opengetrokken in een spervuur van verschroeiende riffs, die je lijf doorklieven als een botte bijl.
Het is belangrijk deze schijf in zijn geheel te beluisteren, omdat elke song aansluit op de volgende. Telkens slaagt Donarhall erin de temperatuur te doen stijgen tot het kookpunt om daarna met een intieme en intensieve aanpak te zorgen voor gemoedsrust. De man bespeelt alle instrumenten zelf, zonder meer een pluim op zijn hoed. Je hebt immers vaak de indruk dat er een compleet orkest speelt.
Een ander opvallend punt is het verslavende effect op je gemoed. Je krijgt niet alleen steeds meer zin om die bijzonder spannende en veelzijdige bergwandeling aan te vatten, ook voel je de neiging die trip meermaals te herhalen. Tot in het oneindige. Donarhall leidt de luisteraar aan de hand doorheen zijn donkere gedachten.
Het landschap op de hoes geeft misschien nog het best weer wat je van 'Helvegr' mag verwachten. Deze reis is niet zonder gevaar. Het tempo wordt nu eens opgedreven om je dan weer uitgeput en verdoofd achter te laten. Maar luisteren doe je wel geboeid van begin tot eind.
https://damusic.be/cd/donarhall-helvegr-7140.html
Throughout the last couple of years, Gnev of Donarhall keeps on releasing music like there is no tomorrow. A total amount of 5 full-lengths, 2 splits and one EP is already in Donarhall’s discography in nearly 3 years. And if that isn’t enough, the good man is also active within 6 other acts like Hexengrab, Necrochaos and Death Carrier. Like every one man project without any guest musicians, he handles every instrument himself…that having said he keeps the microphone in its box as Donarhall is pure instrumental.
So does this kind of atmospheric Black Metal need any vocals? Although I think the right Black Metal vocals will enhance the atmosphere on “Helvegr”, the wrong one will downgrade the whole album, so I tend to say “no” as the Black Metal itself is good enough to enjoy at full force. But I do think it will be degraded to “background music” in most cases, especially when it is not listened through earphones. But when it comes to the instrumental Black Metal genre, this is a good listen.
http://www.vm-underground.com/review/donarhall-helvegr/
Drugi raz w ostatnim czasie trafiam na instrumentalny album black metalowy. Pierwszym był „Loneliness of my Life” rosyjskiego Ethir Anduin, o którym pisałem w październiku 2019 roku. Podobał mi się, jednak był dla mnie po prostu za długi. Tym razem trzymam w rękach piąty krążek niemieckiego Donarhall, zatytułowany „Helvegr”, z piękną okładką, która – nie będę tego ukrywał – jest powodem dzisiejszego tekstu. Muzycznie – jak w przypadku Rosjan – jest dobrze, ale też troszkę za długo. Łączy te płyty także wydawca, bo obie ukazały się pod szyldem Symbol Of Domination Productions.
Dlaczego okładka zdecydowała o tejże recenzji? Wystarczy na nią spojrzeć i powinno być to jasne. Mamy z Aleksem taką umowę, że on podsyła mi spis nowości, ja sobie odsłuchuję i wybieram rzeczy, o których chcę napisać. On je przysyła, ja piszę, ktoś (mam nadzieję) czyta, kupuje płytę, Aleks jest bogaty a ja mam co robić. Podczas ostatniej takiej operacji zwróciłem uwagę na tę okładkę i pomyślałem sobie – cholera, choćby to był cerkiewny góralski folk z dalekiego Kaukazu, to i tak mu napiszę by przysłał, bo tak mi się oprawa graficzna tego albumu spodobała. Na szczęście muzycznie jednoosobowy projekt Donarhall leży w kręgu moich zainteresowań, więc nie musiałem męczyć uszu ani wciskać kitu Aleksowi. Mogę z pełną satysfakcją raczyć oczy okładką, oraz wkładką, bo dodać trzeba iż całość oprawy utrzymana jest w stylu obrazu frontowego i robi niesamowicie pozytywne wrażenie. Oszczędnie, harmonijnie, schludnie, klimatycznie i z pomysłem. Tymi słowami mógłbym też w dużej mierze opisać muzykę Donarhall, wyrzucając „oszczędnie”. Bo „Helvegr” ma rozmach, ale (o czym pisałem przy okazji Ethir Anduin) musi go mieć, bo inaczej ciężko byłoby przebrnąć przez cały album pozbawiony wokali. Nie oszukujmy się, wnoszą one masę ożywienia, są często najbardziej charakterystycznym elementem albumu. Kiedy ich nie ma, trzeba kombinować. I Gnev (do niego jeszcze wrócimy) wykombinował. Umiejętnie zmieszał agresję z zadumą, dzięki czemu dostaliśmy krążek zróżnicowany, nie męczący monotonią, co przy jego długości (prawie pięćdziesiąt minut) ma znaczenie. Nie jest to co prawda album pełen wodotrysków, ale to dobrze, bo dzięki temu bliżej mu do klasycznych black metalowych dzieł. Wystarczają częste zmiany tempa, spora ilość melodii, tu i ówdzie gitara akustyczna, momenty naprawdę szybkie i agresywne i dostajemy ścieżkę dźwiękową godną długiego spaceru pośród leśnych ostępów. Kilka momentów to naprawdę porywające granie a otacza je poziom solidny, bez żadnych upadków. Klasyka goni tu klasykę i „Helvegr” niczego nowego do gatunku „atmosferycznego black metalu” nie wniesie, jest jednak jednym z najlepszych jego przedstawicieli, za którego nie trzeba się wstydzić. Nie jest to żaden wybitny album, ale stwierdzam krótko – ciekawszy od wielu posiadających wokale. A przecież wiemy, że tutaj jest to zabieg zamierzony, bo Gnev (występujący też jako Eugen) to człowiek, któremu pani bozia talentu nie poskąpiła. Ma kilka innych projektów, w których udziela się wokalnie (niedługo usłyszycie jego Necrochaos – premiera demo w lutym w Godz Ov War – polecam już dziś), kilka z nich słyszałem i wiem, że potrafi. Nie wiem jak ten facet znajduje czas na tyle muzyki, dość powiedzieć, że większość jego tworów to rzeczy jednoosobowe a – jak już wspominałem - „Helvegr” to piąty album Donarhall. Od 2017 roku! Prawdopodobnie nie je, nie pije (skandal!), może nawet nie śpi. No, ale dopóki żyje i nagrywa ciekawe rzeczy, to nie będę wnikał jak to wszystko robi. Niech robi. A Wam polecam „Helvegr”, na wieczory długie i krótkie, do książki czy też po prostu by się wyciszyć i porozmyślać.
http://www.przyszloscprzeszlosci.pl/2020/01/obrazem-do-dzwieku.html
Donarhall is an one – man band, coming from Germany and it exist since 2016. What caught my attention, before even listening to their music, is the quantity of their releases. By a short search you can find out that Gnev, the mind behind Donarhall, has already released five full length albums, two splits and one EP just in the three years this band exist. I mention especially this band (Donarhall), because Gnev appears in various other bands, mostly one – man bands, and in 2019 he has released in total six full length albums and one demo. All this music production is something very strange to me and for sure I didn’t have the best opinion when I put their cd to play on. Helvegr was released in 25th of July in 2019 and is limited in 500 copies by Symbol of Domination Prod. and contains eight instrumental tracks which last forty seven minutes in total.
By the minimal, black and white artwork, showing a mountain, I was expecting something epic and cold. I was quite right as Donarhall play a melodic, other times slow other times faster Black Metal, combining their intense melancholic sentiments with the coldness of the heavy winter and some epic – atmospheric elements here and there. Although I started listening to this album in a negative approach, track by track, listen by listen they gained my attention mainly with their riffing that I think is the main, if not the only way, through which the band is trying to communicate its feelings and images. The riffs are melodic, heavy and passionate, they have some very interesting moments as also some boring ones. However the changes into the track make it more interesting and move the story forward, although a few times the changes were not as successful resulting in losing my concentration. The tracks are long, as they last from five to eight minutes but their structure is good so they rarely become boring.
Regarding the production, the sound is quite warm and bassy, something not suitable to the style of the music as someone would expect a rawer and surely colder result. The atmosphere is thick like fog and dark, highlighting the melancholic – depressive feelings the music expresses. The instruments demonstrate a high level of ability especially the guitars, which are clean, very passionate and sentimental. The bass is very heavy and dark and gives a bassy and warm feeling to the music, while it has some good lines. The drums are typical, without anything extraordinary, they are stable and support the music very well. The mixture is very good and balanced, emphasizing the guitars and giving the depth that the compositions need.
After listening to Helvegr for many times, I still have mixed feelings. I think that there are some very interesting riffs but the artist hasn’t tried to build on top of those ideas. On the contrary, he has presented all his ideas without filtering any of them. I also felt that I was missing the vocals a lot but this one is a matter of taste. The songs that I liked most are Vinda, Sunna and Natt. I believe that if he work a little more and build his songs on his good ideas, he will make a very interesting album. This one is not a bad album but not that good one either. The fans of atmospheric, melodic and melancholic Black Metal listen to it.
https://www.orthodoxblackmetal.com/donarhall-helvegr/
Esta é aquela que se chama gato com o rabo de fora, metade tape metade CD. Originalmente lançado em Julho pela Symbol Of Domination Prod. em CD, foi agora reeditado em cassete pela Repose Records. E porquê salientar isto? Porque este álbum é tão bom que deve ser adquirido de qualquer forma, seja por cassete ou cd. Temos um black metal atmosférico que se funde bastante com outros géneros principalmente por ser instrumental, o que nos faz pensar em como os géneros não são de todo importantes perante a qualidade da música em si. O peso e as ambiências transportam-nos memos que não queiramos e essa inevitabilidade é, por si só, prova do seu poder. A quantidade abunda na carreira desta one-man band (este é o quinto álbum desde 2016) mas a qualidade também.
Начнем с этимологии. DONAR — так называли Тора на старо-верхне-немецком языке. Hall - сейчас это более зал или помещение, но среди семи значений по merriam-webster.com я выбираю «замок средневекового короля». То есть я хотел сначала перевести как «Чертог Донара» (Тора), и хотя чертог - это тоже дворец - поэтически, но правильнее скорее всего «Замок Донара».
Так называется проект немецкого музыканта Eugen Kohl. Который известен своим участием в таких формациях как Crypt Witch, Death Carrier, Hexengrab, Necrochaos, Nihilisticon, Sinister Downfall, Urschmerz, ex-Delens Humanitas, ex-Leichenfrost, ex-Nihil Eternal. Бодрый список. Альбом Eremozoic проекта Sinister Downfall, между прочим, издал лейбл FUNERE, и я писал отклик на этот образчик роскошного и гнетущего фюнерал дума.
С 16-го года конструирует Eugen Kohl атмосферный блэк метал, и причем чисто инструментально. Однако когда я рассматривал готическую вязь в буклете, увидел там среди его способностей и vocals, что меня немного приободрило. Ойген записал пять полноформатов, пару сплитов и ЕР. Учитывая, что он был занят еще и в других группах — результативно.
Как вы знаете, дабы записать полноценный альбом инструментального плана нужно два подхода: либо там должны быть включены в архитектуру трэков насыщенные сольные партии, либо композер обладает определенными магическими способностями. В нашем случает - это номер два.
Потому что на 47 минутах у нас тут Atmospheric Black Metal (добавляю - с думовыми вставками, а автор уточнил в фб - clear influence of melodic Doom Metal — ясное влияние мелодического дума ) — по своему определению разряженный и мрачный — хотя с самого начала и в определенных локациях внутри композер создает уверенные опорные точки массивного гитарного звука. Но это локально, повторяю... в целом автор полагается на настроение, туман, сумрак и медленный снег. И во многом эти акценты срабатывают, создавая закрытое пространство для восприятия, где профильному слушателю вполне комфортно.
Медленные и мид-темповые эпически-гипнотические гитары накатывают как прибой, принося с собой релакс и неспешное погружение в музыкальную нордическую сагу. Это вообще самый краткий отклик на альбом.
Но конечно лучше бы добавить, что певческие партии Ойгена - это вокализ (пение без слов) где-то вшнурованный в плоть трэков - да хоть бы в Sunnа.
Что автор реально мастер многослойного звука, и что очень важно - профессионал микса на этой пластинке.
Что музыкант - прекрасный мелодист в жанре блэк металл. Его пассажи здесь зачаровывают, успокаивают, при том рисуя перед внутренним взором слушателя картины бескрайнего заснеженного севера, морозную ночь под Полярной звездой, обледеневшие горные вершины, устремленные в космос...
Вот для этого спиритического сеанса прежде всего и нужна практическая магия - искусство настоящего композитора.
Symbol Of Domination — саблейбл Satanath Records, издал это компакт-диск совместно с немецким брэндом Black Metal Propaganda Deutschland.
4-страничный буклет, пит-арт — рисунок на рабочей стороне диска.
https://vk.com/wall216331265_4123
Eugen Kohl is a very active and productive musician from Germany. The guy has several (solo) outfits, such as Necrochaos (brutal and intense old schooled Death Metal), Death Carrier (massive Sludge / Doom / Drone), Sinister Downfall (heavy atmospheric Funeral Doom), Hexengrab (hateful Second Wave-styled Black Metal), Urschmerz (Ambient / Dungeon Synth / Winter Synth-injected Depressive Black Metal), Crypt Witch (psychotropic Stoner-injected Ultra Doom Metal) or Nihilisticon (which is not a one-man army, but a real ‘band’, performing timeless and melodic Atmospheric Black Metal), amongst many others.
Another project courtesy of Eugen, aka Gnev, is Donarhall. This Lower-Saxonian based one was formed in 2016 and is responsible for more than one hand full of recordings over a period of just three years. Amongst them, some fine full-length studio albums and two splits (one with Vihan Messu from Finland, one with Greece’s Adventum Diaboli).
During 2019, Eugen ‘Gnev’ recorded his fifth full length studio album under the Donarhall banner, which was (and still is, of course) called Helvegr. Eugen did everything himself (song writing, recording, production), and the result got released in a partnership of Black Metal Propaganda Deutschland and Symbol Of Domination Productions for both digital and compact disc format. The latter comes in a normal ‘jewel case’ with a four-page booklet. The latter is extremely sober, with almost no additional information (no lyrics, but this is an instrumental band, you see…), with a four-page booklet in sober black-and-white artwork (cover + inner sleeve, just like the inlay and the disc itself).
Helvegr, the first release after September 2018’s Arousal, consists of eight instrumental epics, clocking forty-seven minutes (Arousal consisted of exceptionally lengthy compositions, in comparison to all former material). It is like a huge symphony, a majestic orchestration of Dark Aural art. Donarhall are a non-vocal, instrumental project, created out of the ashes of the most sulphurous blackened remains of bleakness. But hey, pay attention, for vocals are totally otiose right here.
Seriously, I love many (most) kind of blackened vocals: from high-pitched screams over diabolical voices to grimly wretched grunts and guttural choking blast-the-lung-out-of-the-body shit. But somehow this project simply surprises, and convinces, even though it is totally instrumental.
Donarhall brings enormously energetic and fast blackened Metal (pieces like the intro, for example, are totally different with their bombastic and doomed character), based on the mighty interplay of the hypnotic twin / tremolo leading riffs at the one hand, and a monstrous, barbaric rhythm section at the other.
Fine elements are the sound and the use of acoustic excerpts. When referring to the latter, well, these acoustic intermezzi (intros or passages in between) are wonderful, for they do add that semi-emotional greatness of epic and victorious conviction. It goes extremely well with the war-mongering passages; and especially some slower excerpts do exhale that glorious, warlike attitude. I also mentioned the sound, and I am truly obsessed by this unique mixture of atmospheric roughness in production, and the professional mix and mastering. Lacking vocals, this purely instrumental experience could have turned into a guitar-only journey, ignoring every detail that lies behind to support the bigger picture. But in Donarhall’s case, the whole instrumentation convinced like a huge organism of darkened Aural Art. Whenever you’re experiencing rather melancholic parts, blasting and erupting pieces, or epic-heroic passages; the well-thought equilibrium of all instruments does lift the whole up to areas of magnificence and glory.
What follows here is nothing but a personal opinion. I like Black Metal. I love Black Metal. I breathe Black Metal as from the Eighties. And Black Metal usually implies ‘screams’ from whatever kind. Most instrumental efforts I experienced, well, they could not convince me at all. Donarhall, however, are an exception, because for some reason, Eugen is able to create something that exceeds ‘words’ to express its message. I wouldn’t mind hearing some grim voices actually, yet then again I do not miss them either. Donarhall are able to tell their story without the use of words, and that’s a unique thing (and not many instrumental bands / projects are able to do this very same good shitty thing!). Cool! And hey, there are voices – not expressing words, not telling a story with full-linguistic sentences or conceptual content, but used and performed as an atmospheric instrument somehow (listen for example to Vagr to understand what I mean – a truly magisterial piece with some overwhelming acoustic excerpts, a monumental rhythm section and intriguing leads).
Purely informative, but a couple of months after the official release of this album, Repose Records did release a tape edition too, though this one being strictly limited to an edition of only fifty copies…
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/donarhall
DONARHALL na metalowej scenie pojawił się w 2016 roku, a rok później ukazał się jego pierwszy album. Jest to projekt typu one man band, za który odpowiada tu Eugen Kohl szerzej znany jako Gnev. Trzeba przyznać, że muzyk jest bardzo pracowity bo pomijając fakt, że na koncie DONARHALL znalazło się do tej pory osiem wydawnictw (w tym pięć albumów), to Gnev prócz tego projektu działa w kilku innych.
"Helvegr" to najnowsze dzieło w dorobku DONARHALL. Album ukazał się w 2019, a muzyka jaką reprezentuje to niezmiennie klimatyczny atmospheric black metal. Tempa na tej płycie są dość zróżnicowane, bo mamy i wolne i szybkie. Gitarom towarzyszą klawisze z syntezatora, co nadaje ciekawego klimatu. Pojawiają się gitarowe solówki, może i niezbyt skomplikowane, ale zapadają w pamięć. To co rzuca się w oczy, a raczej w uszy to dobra produkcja. Wyraźnie słychać tu wszystkie instrumenty. Dość często występują tu gitary na czystym kanale, jak również gitary akustyczne. Miejscami muzyka na tej płycie przypomina mi brzmienie naszej rodzimej Mgły (zwłaszcza w czwartym utworze) , ale nie jest to żadna kopia, bo Gnev ma swój wypracowany styl. To co po jakimś czasie zaczyna mi przeszkadzać w tych nagraniach, to brak wokali. W dzisiejszych czasach nie jest trudno za pomocą Internetu znaleźć muzyka do współpracy, jeśli samemu nie czujemy się na siłach by na przykład nagrać wokal. Z tego co widzę to cała dyskografia jest utrzymana w ten sposób, że wszystkie utwory są instrumentalne. Kto wie, może za jakiś czas wyjdzie jakaś płyta kompilacyjna z dogranym wokalem. Póki co, to chórki wygenerowane z syntezatora nie wystarczają by zastąpić głos, który mógłby nadać więcej mroku dla tej płyty.
https://wrotakrypty.blogspot.com/2020/03/donarhall-helvegr.html
Quanto mais o tempo passa, músicos diferenciados surgem pelo Metal com propostas interessantes e criativas, rendendo grandes projetos e álbuns.
Neste caso, o projeto intitulado Donarhall consiste em idéias do talentoso músico alemão Eugen Kohl (integrante das bandas Crypt Witch, Death Carrier, Hexengrab, Nihilisticon, Sinister Downfall), também conhecido sob o pseudônimo de Gnev, sendo assim; uma "one-man band" e com foco em instrumentais.
Seu novo álbum, "Helvegr" (de 2019), demonstra não só seu comprometimento com o que produziu (apesar de ter tantos outros projetos, este é o seu foco), mas também, entrega uma ótima perspectiva de criatividade do mesmo, sendo técnico, feroz, linear, cadenciado em muitos momentos e bastante acessível para a sua vertente.
Tudo aqui é muito bem pensado e criado para você amante de Doom á Atmosférico (ou mesmo do Black Metal europeu), criando um clima próprio e uníssono.
Indicar apenas uma faixa seria covardia, portanto, não perca tempo e ouça por completo este sublime projeto e excelente álbum.
Guie sua mente para o que está acontecendo nestes 8 temas instrumentais e faça uma ótima "viagem".
http://rockvibrationsofficial.blogspot.com/2020/03/donarhall-helvegr-review.html
Donarhall è una one-man-band teutonica capitanata da tale Gnav, musicista che abbiamo già avuto modo di conoscere nei Sinister Downfall e che al contempo, porta avanti una nutrita serie di progetti paralleli (Crypt Witch, Death Carrier, Hexengrab, Necrochaos e Nihilisticon, giusto per citarne qualcuno). 'Helvegr' è il quinto album per l'artista originario della Bassa Sassonia, un concentrato di black strumentale assai tirato che si dipana dall'intro d'apertura, "Byrdh", fino alla conclusiva "Liflat", attraverso un percorso interamente affidato alla sola musica, per un esperimento parzialmente riuscito. Detto che non sono un fan delle release prive di un vocalist in ambito post-rock, immaginerete quanto possa esserlo ancor meno in territori prettamente estremi. Tuttavia, il mastermind tedesco prova a giochicchiare con un po' tutti gli strumenti a propria disposizione proprio per supplire all'assenza della voce. Ci riesce, con tutti i limiti del caso, sia chiaro. "Vinda" è una violentissima traccia nei cui solchi si ritrovano comunque rallentamenti acustici che fanno da contraltare alle ruvide scorribande in territori post-black. "Hyrr" è la terza song che apre con un'altra parte arpeggiata, accompagnata successivamente da una ritmica mid-tempo che costituirà la matrice della song. Non mancano le melodie affidate al tremolo picking, cosi come una certa ricorrenza nell'utilizzo della chitarra acustica che contribuisce ad acuire quel feeling decisamente malinconico che aleggia in tutto il lavoro. La sensazione è di ascoltare un che di Burzum, il tutto rivisto ovviamente in chiave più moderna, peccato solo che manchi una voce a guaire sulle note roboanti e pesanti di "Heimr" o "Vagr". Stranamente all'inizio di "Sunna" sembra esserci un etereo coro in sottofondo, offuscato successivamente dalla pesantenza del riffing portante, un peccatuccio veniale che mi sarei risparmiato proprio per dare una parvenza di voce alla song. Comunque, il lavoro si lascia piacevolmente ascoltare, pur non facendo gridare al miracolo, muovendosi tra riffoni tirati e altre parti decisamente più atmosferiche che rendono 'Helvegr' un gradevole passatempo di ascolto di musica strumentale. Se solo ci fosse stata una voce però, chissà che voto avrei dato al buon vecchio Gnav...
https://thepitofthedamned.blogspot.com/2020/03/donarhall-helvegr.html
Black metal atmosférico não é algo assim fora do normal, agora black metal atmosférico instrumental e onde não se sente falta da voz, isso é que já não é tão comum. Principalmente com este nível. Se a descrição até agora não vos fascinou, então temos que referir que não se trata de qualquer coisa pós-qualquer-coisa, ou mais uma deturpação do género. Poderá ser uma abordagem melódica, mas não existe aqui nada que não encaixe por exemplo no feeling de uns Burzum nos seus momentos mais compassados (e mais inspirados, importante referir). Um álbum que nos ia passando despercebido mas que felizmente não aconteceu. Grande vício.
Donarhall is a one man project from Germany, leading by Gnev – all instruments. The band has already released 5 albums since 2017!
If you want to know how black metal sounds without vocals, listen to Helvegr, this is album of instrumental tracks only.
All starts off very slow. A doom metal Byrdh should interest funeral doom maniacs. While listening to this monolithic song, under my skin, I already knew what was coming next...
Blizzard and frost given guitar riffs in Vinda will freeze you in process of listening to this black metal piece. The track also consists of atmospheric bits.
Surely, much more atmospheric, groovy, black metal song is Hyrr - 3-ways guitar layers at times, 4 if wish to include bass to the picture.
Melodic, mid-fast tempo songs Heimr and Vagr sound similar to each other. Of course, both tracks also feature grim guitar work along with post-black metal shreds - by which I matched those songs similarities.
You can hear acoustic guitars and keyboards few times in the album that do sonically good job for the music of Donarhall.
Keyboards that sound very dark and those ones that imitate vocal chants sometimes, are part of Sunna which is incredibly dismal and atmospheric black metal song, probably highlight of the album. Probably”, because there are more tracks that I like (1,2,7,8).
The guitar storm is coming in Natt which is also performed on acoustic guitar. All together, the track sounds both harsh and atmospheric with Norwegian, German and other black metal influences which you can hear all over the album.
Heavier guitar track, with dim, melodic music glimpses are measured in Liflat. The song sounds niche -spectacular in comparison to other tracks. Basically, music here is getting better from what was already good in the whole recording.
Album is tidily composed, songs are not too short nor long. I am glad that Gnev did not performed any vocals, who knows how it could have changed the quality of music which is now on good, desirable level already...
Helvegr is better than I initially expected it to be!
Donarhall is a fully instrumental black metal one-man project from Lower Saxony (Germany). It was invoked to life by mastermind Eugen Kohl aka Gnev in 2016. Besides the current project he is also involved in Crypt Witch, Death Carrier, Hexengrab, Necrochaos, Nihilisticon, Sinister Downfall and Urschmerz. Busy as hell musician, as you can see! "Helvegr" is the fifth long play of Donarhall. It counts 8 songs in total with a 47-minute playing time. Musically, it is very atmospheric, kind of relaxed black metal that has elements of funeral doom metal as well. Really enjoyable stuff that to my mind was assumed to have the effect of background music, because while listening to it you can freely do whatever you want, it definitely won't interfere with any of your tasks. In short, what you are going to perceive and feel during the songs of "Helvegr" can be described as pure meditation and freedom of senses! The vibes are very deep there! It is something like when the nature comes to you in different beautiful forms or let's say soundscapes, while you are sitting in the chair and let the sounds of "Helvegr" penetrate your mind. I wholeheartedly recommend to listen to this marvelous masterpiece for fans of any kind of metal music!!!
http://castrum.com.ua/encomium/7albums1.htm
VERDIKT: Instrumentální black, co klade důraz na naléhavost atmosféry. Výsledek je takový polovičatý, ačkoliv ty příjemné pocity při poslechu přece jen převládají. Jen by to chtělo některé momenty více rozvinout, či dotáhnout.
Evžen Kohl je člověk mnoha tváří. Za jeho uměleckým pseudonymem Gnev lze v patřičných archiváliích vyhledat solidní řádku kapel a projektů, kde u většiny má v kolonce zásluhy zapsáno prosté „everything“. Nebudu předstírat, že jeho kroky sleduji, protože jsem se k jeho tvorbě dostal skutečně poprvé až nyní s albem Helvegr, které vyšlo pod logem Donarhall.
Kapelu Donarhall lze vídat na scéně od roku 2016 a zmíněná deska je již pátou dlouhohrající nahrávkou, z čehož lze vydedukovat, že autor má myšlenek, nápadů a zápalu na rozdávání. Zvláště když přihlédneme k podobné aktivitě u řady dalších projektů. Zda smekat klobouk dolů nebo se dát na útěk, je věc hodna podrobné studie kompletního materiálu, na což nemám vyhrazenou vskutku žádnou kapacitu. Proto se dojmy v recenzi budou odpichovat čistě jen od alba Helvegr.
Rozhodnutí tvořit svou hudbu ryze instrumentálním způsobem je solidní výzva. Od umělce se očekává řemeslná zdatnost a určitá originalita. Když pak přičteme, že se bude jednat o black metal ... jsou to nároky vskutku vysoké. Alespoň moje ucho by v takto nastavených podmínkách rádo slyšelo stoprocentně naplněný prostor, který nebude polevovat v atmosféře a bude skutečně bavit od začátku do konce. Helvegr tyto směrnice splňuje tak na půl.
Časové rozvržení je v pořádku a musím říct, že jde o zlatou střední cestu. Jednoslovné názvy moc o tématu nenapoví, ale díky absenci zpěvu (čili i textů) je to nakonec stejně asi jedno. Blackmetalové riffy jsou nosnou konstrukcí všech skladeb. Tu se jeví opravdu chytlavě a zajímavě, jinde jde o prázdné věty. Lze vycítit i stopové množství doomu, a to zejména ve chvílích, kdy nahrávka uklidní rozjeté kolotoče a začne být tajuplnější. V jistý moment jsem si vzpomněl až na náladu Tiamat. Byl to sice drobný záblesk (čtvrtá věc Heimr, od chvíle, kdy se přidají všechny nástroje po dobu několika vteřin), ale vytrhl mě z fádního rozpoložení. A takové momenty jsou mi sympatické, protože právě tehdy začínám desku soustředěněji vnímat.
Na druhou stranu jisté zaujetí upřít nelze. Není to špatný kousek, co by se vyloženě ztrácel. Má své jasné a silné momenty, třeba závěrečná Liflat vydrží být zajímavá po celých svých šest minut. Ale je pravdou, že s poslední skladbou už si člověk tak nějak navykne na nastolená pravidla. Vidím v tom silný potenciál, který by zaručeně stál ještě o chvíli šperkování. Black metal sám o sobě je velmi pestrý styl a když se mu dodá správná energie, může si i jeho atmosféra perfektně vystačit bez hrdelních kreací. Na této cestě Donarhall kráčí, ale příliš rychle. Vysvětlení se vlastně nabízí samo – neštěpit své nápady v miliardu skladeb pro milion kapel, ale plně využívat a zkoumat ty dobré a funkční nápady. Dát tomu čas. Vždyť přece doba, kdy kapely musely každý rok vydávat desku, aby se o nich vědělo, už jsou pryč. Nicméně pokud prahnete po zádumčivém black metalu v zajímavé instrumentální poloze, Donarhall se jeví jako dobrý společník. Neurazí, nenaštve, ale bohužel ani nepřinese žádné na zadek posazující poslechy.
https://www.echoes-zine.cz/recenze/donarhall-helvegr
Eugen Kohl is a damn productive force in Metal. Outside of his work in Sinister Downfall, he has a litany of other projects such as Cinerous Rain, Death Carrier, Crypt Witch, and several more besides that. Dorhnhall is one of these projects, and arguably one of his most productive considering their first three albums were all released in 2017, and that's along with other albums from his other projects. That productivity wouldn't mean a whole lot if he were bad at it, but everything I've heard from him so far is depressive gold, and Helvegr is no different.
Like most of his projects, Dornhall sees Eugen (here under the pseudonym Gnev) handling everything by himself to create bleak and moody soundscapes in a way only he can. What's different here is that the music is entirely instrumental Atmospheric Black Metal, a somewhat uncommon approach that's not easy to pull off. That description might give you the idea that this is a dull and tedious release, but Gnev has always had a knack for painting blackened horizons and desolate plains with his compositional skills, and like all his other releases I've listened to, Helvegr takes me to those melancholic places from the comfort of my dark and cozy room the minute I put my headphones on. Give this album and all his other projects a listen and maybe he'll take you there too.
https://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/review.php?revid=12175
Helvegr is the path to hell and it is not hard to imagine the band’s art being of the black metal variety, but the band and album are strictly of the instrumental persuasion, which precludes the praise of Satan as its content. Instead, this album of eight instrumental tracks spread across 47 minutes is depressive, ambient and moody. It may go fast, slow or mid-paced. It may include a synthesized background, which occasionally sounds like a filler for the vocal chants it does not have, and it may sound hellishly fierce when it wants to be. Frankly, for such an extreme style of music the ambience and the lack of vocals make it a good medium to listen to while in the mood for nothing or needing background sounds. It is metal mind you, no doubt, but the act manages to present a cohesive sound that does not protrude too often.
http://metallian.com/donarhall.php
Instrumental atmospheric black metal. That gotta be a first for me, at least as far as I can remember. But I am no stranger to giving this a chance. I totally love atmospheric black metal with vocals so why wouldn’t I like it without? In a way, listening to this makes me think of a Bal-Sagoth that has gone black metal, or an alternative soundtrack to any Lord of The Ring movies. I don’t miss the vocals as much as I thought at first. This does require that you let your imagination take you on a different journey had there been vocals. But musically this is some pretty good stuff.