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Album Review – NeraNature / Disorders (2014)

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Nera brings us the true nature of Gothic Rock.

Rating4

neranature_disordersThree years after her beautiful debut-album Foresting Wounds, our Polish diva Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka is finally back with her Gothic Rock band NeraNature and, of course, another excellent release, the highly anticipated Disorders. For the ones that were somehow expecting something similar to her old group, Polish Symphonic Black Metal band Darzamat, forget about it: Disorders is a delightful sequence to her previous solo album, or maybe I should say a sequence to Nera’s own experiences in life.

First of all, in my humble opinion I believe that if Nera was American she would have already conquered the world of music by now: she has the looks, a powerful voice, a strong charisma and everything else one needs to be successful in North America or anywhere else. Not only that, her music is very professional, beautiful and emanates lots of feeling and energy, but that invisible barrier that exists for many non-American artists keeps hampering a higher acceptance from fans all over the USA and Canada. I really hope that changes with time, and American and Canadian Gothic Rock fans, especially the ones who love that British sonority from the 80’s, can finally acknowledge her awesome work and elevate her to stardom.

Anyway, let’s focus on the smooth and captivating music from the new NeraNature album now, which is the purpose of this review. Although extremely short (the album has only 8 tracks split in less than 30 minutes), Disorders brings the listener more of that pleasant atmospheric rock that became so famous especially in the UK during the 80’s, with lots of additional elements from heavy and experimental music (preventing the music from sounding repetitive or obsolete), and Nera’s unique voice standing out all the time as expected. All of that can already be enjoyed in the opening track, Twisted, a very gothic tune with some electronic elements mixed with the guitar riffs, and Nera’s voice sounding as superb as usual. And have you noticed how happy she looks in her “selfie” music video for this song? Well, she definitely should be, as the final result is truly awesome.

neranatureThe album continues with its first single and a perfect choice for hitting the road, Drifting, which has a pure 80’s rhythm with strong riffs, lots of “wah-wah” and more mesmerizing vocals, and  In Contrast To, a heavier track with lots of Gothic moments, with highlights to its interesting piano notes and music breaks. Then we have The Clue, an atmospheric rock semi-ballad, and I Play,  the most melancholic track of all, with another beautiful performance by Nera and very introspective lyrics (“I play hide & seek / with the intention of losing myself for good…”). One very important detail that you’ll be able to notice after listening to this first part of the album is the presence of a lot more piano and keyboard passages than in Foresting Wounds, giving the whole album a more feminine and delicate approach, which perfectly suits the music direction Nera has chosen to follow in the past few years.

And it looks like Nera and her very competent band saved the last part of Disorders for a combination of distinct and pleasant songs: Reverse is a nice mix of Gothic Rock and Metal with some progressive passages, sounding a little like some of the old classics from Garbage; Hesitation is an intense song with a more direct instrumental, where Nera beautifully sings with her heart; and the last song, the very Gothic and experimental Mistaken, with its eerie intro and all other unusual elements, sounds completely different from everything else Nera has already done in her career, expanding her music boundaries in a very entertaining way.

To sum up, even though I still consider Foresting Wounds slightly better, Disorders (available for purchase on iTunes) is indeed a lovely album that will probably grow on me with time. That beautiful Gothic musicality only NeraNature is capable of generating is there, the lyrics are very personal and meaningful, and besides, listening to Nera’s voice is always awesome no matter the situation. And if the situation includes enjoying a good wine with the person you love while listening to the true nature of Gothic Rock offered in this album by NeraNature, it gets even better.

Best moments of the album: Twisted, Drifting and I Play.

Worst moments of the album: In Contrast To, and the fact the album is too short.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Twisted 3:09
2. Drifting 4:54
3. In Contrast To 3:13
4. The Clue 3:47
5. I Play 3:09
6. Reverse 2:47
7. Hesitation 3:12
8. Mistaken 3:31

Band members
Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka – vocals
Marek “Markus” Tkocz – bass
Paweł “Senator” Nowak – drums
Piotr “Peter” Nowak – keyboards

Album Review – Behemoth / The Satanist (2014)

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Vile, obscure and impressive: these are just a few words that can be used to describe  the new album by Poland’s most influential Heavy Metal band of all time.

Rating3

Behemoth_TheSatanistIf anyone asked me “what’s the darkest and most obscure Heavy Metal band in activity today?”, I would probably point to the infamous Polish Blackened Death Metal band Behemoth. And with the release of their new album, The Satanist, they totally corroborate my opinion: from their Black Metal back in 1991 when they started in Gdańsk, Poland, until their current Blackened Death Metal, it’s easy to see their evolution to a more devilish music approach, which makes me think we should call it an “evil-lution”.

The Satanist is Behemoth’s tenth studio album, and the first after the band’s mastermind Adam “Nergal” Darski was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2010. It’s amazing to see how well he has been recovering from this fearful disease and how he was able to canalize all the pain and suffering into Behemoth’s music, proving to ignorant people he’s not being “punished by God” or any other stupidity like that just because he plays extreme music, but that he’s only a normal human being, a talented musician that had to fight for his life. Besides, if you were one of those people that got “happy” to see him being “punished” with leukemia just because of the type of art he creates, well, you’re A LOT worse than the creature you think Nergal is.

Anyway, let’s get back to the music, which is what really matters here. If you have a weak stomach or suffer from any heart disease, do not even begin listening to this album: The Satanist starts with the extremely heavy song Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel, with its brutal lyrics (“I saw the virgin’s cunt spawning forth the snake / I witnessed tribes ov Judah reduced to ruin / I watched disciples twelve dissolved by flame / Looked down on son ov god snuffed in vain”) and creepy pace. In case you love horror movies like I do, you must take a look at their music video for this song: it reminds me of some great movies such as The Omen, Hellraiser and especially The Ring. You can check the censored version at the end of this review, or the uncensored one HERE, but let me just inform you that the only difference I noticed between both are the girl’s blurred nipples in the censored version, nothing else.

behemothThe next track, Furor Divinus, is more Black Metal, especially the drums by Inferno, while Messe Noire gets back to their later Death Metal with some amazing guitar solos at the end. The second single extracted from the album, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, is another tenebrous fast track perfect for live performances, with great riffs and an excellent job done by Nergal on vocals. Amen is as heavy as hell, an evil sonic massacre that fans will love, while the title-track The Satanist doesn’t reach the same level as the previous tracks, despite having an interesting atmosphere.

The album continues with Ben Sahar, an average track with good drums and riffs, and In the Absence Ov Light, another heavy track where Inferno pounds his drums mercilessly. The last track of the album, O Father O Satan O Sun!, is the perfect soundtrack for a horror movie, with its strong lyrics, frightful atmosphere, and the “speech” in the final two minutes of this song are more than amazing.

I guess I don’t need to say anything about the controversial lyrics, or about the superb album art by Russian artist Denis Forkas Kostromitin. Those are “extras” to a great work done by Nergal and his band, which becomes even more impressive due to the thin line we all know that exists between being awesome or totally ridiculous in the world of Black Metal. Let’s hope Behemoth continues on the awesome side, and that their evil empire of music keeps blowing our minds for many years to come.

Best moments of the album: Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel, O Father O Satan O Sun!, Amen and Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer.

Worst moments of the album: The Satanist and Ben Sahar.

Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast Records

Track listing
1. Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel 4:25
2. Furor Divinus 3:06
3. Messe Noire 4:04
4. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer 5:35
5. Amen 3:49
6. The Satanist 5:33
7. Ben Sahar 5:34
8. In the Absence Ov Light 4:58
9. O Father O Satan O Sun! 7:13

Australian/Japanese edition bonus tracks
10. Ludzie Wschodu (Siekiera cover) 4:11
11. Chant for Ezkaton 2000 E.V. (Japanese version only) 5:10
12. Qadosh (Japanese version only) 5:00

Band members
Adam “Nergal” Darski – lead vocals, guitars
Tomasz “Orion” Wróblewski – bass guitar
Zbigniew Robert “Inferno” Promiński – drums and percussion
Patryk Dominik “Seth” Sztyber – guitars

Additional musicians
Krzysztof “Siegmar” Oloś (Vesania) – samples
Michał Łapaj (Riverside) – Hammond organ

Metal Chick of the Month – Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka

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Nera, prawdziwa polska księżniczka!

Our Heavy Metal goddess this month is the perfect representation of all the beauty and finesse of her home country:  Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka, or simply Nera, is a gorgeous Polish singer and songwriter from the city of Katowice (Silesia), known for her potent vocals in the Polish Symphonic Black Metal band Darzamat, and more recently for her own solo project called NeraNature.

Nera started her career in 1997 with the Gothic Metal band MidnightDate, from the city of Gliwice, about 30 minutes from Katowice. Then after a few years she finally joined Darzamat, in 2003, with whom she has recorded so far three studio albums: Semidevilish (2004), Transkarpatia (2005), and their latest one Solfernus’ Path (2009), as well as a live DVD called Live Profanity (Visiting the Graves of Heretics). In one of her interviews, she explained the meaning of the band’s name, saying it comes from the Latvian mythology and it denotes garden goddess ( dārzs = garden and māte = mother, in Latvian). In her own words, “I really like it as it seems to me very “organic”, close to the nature and paganism”, showing her passion for everything related to Mother Nature.

Due to Nera’s powerful voice, astonishing looks and sexy onstage moves (and of course, the overall quality of their music), Darzamat reached then some status, gaining respect from Heavy Metal fans all over the world, being invited to play in festivals with exceptional bands such as Arch Enemy, Carcass and Stratovarius, and even in a special Heavy Metal festival in India, which is something rare to see in heavy music today. Besides that, the band also featured in the 2009 edition of the amazing Metal Female Voices Fest. Nera’s mesmerizing performance with Darzamat can be seen in the videos In Red Iris, from the album Semidevilish, and The Burning Times, from the album Transkarpatia.

In 2009, Nera founded her own solo project called NeraNature, completely different from Darzamat. The music is more like some Gothic Rock, with Nera using her voice in a smooth and charming way, and according to Nera herself, “this project is more intimate, private and sometimes bizarre and freakish.” The name of the band is a combination of her own nickname and the word “Nature”, as a reflection of her deep connection with the environment. This connection can be easily seen in the lyrics, which are all about Nature itself, life, and a more feminist outlook of the world. She released a full-length album in 2011 called Foresting Wounds, which includes a pretty cool cover version of Garbage’s The World Is Not Enough, and has recently released a new single entitled Drifting (available on iTunes and Amazon.co.uk), which probably means there will be a new NeraNature album pretty soon.

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Apart from her career with Darzamat and NeraNature, she appeared as a guest singer in the albums Arcane (2010), by the Portuguese Gothic Metal band Dark Wings Syndrome, and Ordo Bellictum Satanas (2010), by the Ukrainian ex-Black Metal band Semargl.

Regarding her musical influences, Nera said the most important bands and artists in her life, which helped define her singing style, were The Gathering, Tiamat, Samael, Ulver, Bathory, Arcturus and Opeth. Furthermore, it seems she has a very eclectic taste for music, as she usually listens not only to Heavy Metal, but also to several kinds of rock, ambient, smooth jazz and some classical music. In her free time, Nera enjoys listening to music from the bands Peccatum, Emperor, Ulver, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Leszek Mozdzer, Satyricon and some soundtracks such as Twin Peaks, Requiem for a Dream, and Dracula. She also mentioned she has a special admiration for the music of the Norwegian Black Metal band Emperor, and that she would love to perform live one day with them.

And finally, when talking about her voice and technique, Nera said that your emotions, experiences and own interpretations are much more important than any singing classes you might take in your life (by the way, she has never taken any), and that the most exciting thing for her is that your voice is unique, it’s like your fingerprint, and it helps define each person in the world, not only singers. We have to agree with her, but let’s be honest and also admit that the voice of this gothic polska księżniczka, as well as her beauty and charm, are way above the average.

NeraNature Official Facebook page

“Nature is life, truth, beauty and power.” – Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka