RAKOTH „Tiny Deaths”

This release is very, very difficult for reviewing, because it presents some weird music, not by any chance an easy listen, but, on the other hand shows undeniable musical talent and originality. The inlay of the promo disk says: AN ECLETIC, MIND SHIFTING JOURNEY INTO ANOTHER WORLD FROM A BAND COMMITED TO PUSHING BACK THE BOUNDARIES OF ART. Looks like somewhat exaggerated labeling, but not untrue. It is a demanding listen and if you prefer songs with catchy choruses, trendy production and predictable lyrics, you better pass on this one and save some money. If, on the other hand, you are interested in artistic music that takes quite a few spins in your CD player to grow on you, the unique listening experience, and your CD collection includes something of the following: Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Zappa, Empyrium, Tenhi, Ulver etc…then let me introduce you to the enchanting and puzzling world of Rakoth's new album.

Rakoth comes from Obninsk, Russia and this is it's third full album released by Earache Records ( debut “Planeshift” and follow up “Jabberworks” with rerecorded versions of demo songs were released for Italian label Code666 (in)famous for signing original bands). In the past their music could have been described as folk influenced, very melodic, intelligent fantasy dark/black metal incorporating clean singing (mostly something between narration and bard singing, with singer trying to tell a story rather than to growl it's way through the songs), flute, piano, strange harmonies and a lot of emotion. The songwriting was unusual, with no standard verse/verse/chorus/verse structure. The songs were made of musical pieces flowing from one into another, blending perfectly into a dreamy, fantasy masterpiece.

It is hard to describe in the simple way something that artists worked hard to bring life into and make unique. For start, let's just say that these Russians have decided to abandon their metal roots as so many bands before them (Amorphis, TheGathering, Theatre of Tragedy, Covenant, Ulver, Empyrium, Paradise Lost, Katatonia to name a few), and experiment with other styles. The genre this album mostly resides is avant-garde doomy rock with slight electronic (even techno) touch. It is impressive that they have kept all those elements that made their music so magical. Although it isn't metal anymore, one can easily distinguish Rakoth sound in it, because only the package has changed and the essence has not. Flute is still present in almost every song on the album, enriching the sound with slightly off-key melodies that add certain folky vibe.

The singing also requires some explanation. It is more a storytelling and varies from very passionate narration (theatrical and dramatic when needed) to a bard-like singing (with some Orthodox Church choir singing influences) and even blackish screaming (only for a few short moments on this album). There are probably thousands of metal singers with more powerful voice, better technique and better English pronunciation than this one, but his singing blends together with the music in the most perfect way. On some tracks (Vicious Life, for example), there are several layers of vocals singing one over the top of another, but they sing non-related vocal lines in different keys creating experimental and bizarre atmosphere. Drums sound programmed and electronic most of the time, bass varies from slow, detuned to Roland 303 techno accompaniment which sometimes sounds so crappy (at least to me, because I don't listen to techno music), but sometimes adds certain darkness to the music. There are strange and doomy guitar harmonies, detuned and with amp feedback, atmospheric leads, quiet acoustic guitar passages, somber and solemn piano passages.

Let's see the brief overview of the tracks:
INTRO (1:02) : flute and acoustic guitar intro with some windy sounds in the background.
PLANEKEEP/THE CRYPT (6:26) : song with Egyptian harmonies played by fanfare sounding keyboards. Spoken vocals and some growling.
FEVERED (1:49) : monotone drumming with background flutes that create the feeling of being in the forest. At the end of the track there is some weird moaning like someone having constipation.
DAWN (7:08) : song incorporating all elements of Rakoth's music
TRUST THIS (1:27) : electronic instrumental with Roland 303 arrangement, background synth strings and voice loop repeating: “trust”
EDGE (8:39) : bass and Celtic flute beginning, another fine example of this album's sound
HORIZON (3:50) : Melancholic and solemn piano tune with singer telling a story in Russian (quite passionately).
VICIOUS LIFE (1:06): two voices babbling
JUNE 3 (3:39) : another somber instrumental
INST ANOTHER LAMENT (6:08) : excellent song beginning with flute, later with atmospheric leads and detuned guitars
TINY DEATHS (7:53) : another excellent melancholic song with some electronic arrangements

This album conveys a certain feeling, and it takes a while for this feeling to work in the mind of a listener. The fault is, maybe, that the songs are placed in such order that (by my humble opinion) the highlights of the album (Horizon, Inst Another Lament, Tiny Deaths) come later and it is possible that listener gets tired before it comes to a full motion. It possesses the similar vibe as newer Katatonia, with no actual musical similarity. In it's best moments this album is enchanting, radiant with emotion of melancholy and solitude, something like when returning home to an empty, cold bed at 3:00 am after closing time in some dump or from a boring party. In it's worst moments it's annoying and confusing, sounding like somebody wanted to have fun and record rubbish.

note: 8/10