Arathorn

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arathorn
General information
Genre (s) Pagan metal
founding 1996
Founding members
Skoll
AK
former members
Keyboard , accordion , vocals
 M. Gericke

Arathorn is a pagan metal project by Sköll from Berlin , whose stage name is borrowed from Nordic mythology (see Skalli ). The name Arathorn, however, goes back to a fictional character in JRR Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings .

history

The band was founded in the summer of 1996 by AK and Sköll; shortly afterwards M. Gericke joined Arathorn. With a four-track demo recording , the label Folter Records was convinced to sign a contract with the band. In 1997 her debut album was released, never more crowning than what was once . After that, the band disagreed about their musical direction: Sköll wanted a stronger folkloric direction, while AK and M. Gericke tended to have a harder sound. They left the band to play at Nox Intempesta. After their rise, the band was inactive for several years.

After the unsuccessful search for suitable musicians, Sköll made the decision in 2003 to continue Arathorn as a one-man band; In 2004 another demo cassette was released; Folter Records showed again interest in the new material, but due to various difficulties the concept album Treue und Verrat could only be completed in winter 2007 and released in 2008.

Sköll is not planning any gigs, which is what distinguishes “Arathorn from a 'real' band”. If he were to perform, he wanted “to convey the same mood as can be heard on CD. I am annoyed by bands who only present their music live in a 'light' way. I was disappointed when I saw ENSLAVED live for the first time in 1994 . ' Vikingligr Veldis ' [sic!] Lives from electronics. I could of course hire guest musicians (the guys from DIES ATER would definitely help me out), but I think my music is not necessarily made to create a live atmosphere. Even my metallic songs are more supportive and probably more suitable for enjoying a good glass of red wine or a fine beer in front of the fireplace. I think there are other bands that the audience would rather see live. "

Music style and lyrics

The band describes their style as "Medieval Metal" (without any connection with the Middle Ages Metal genre), because their soundscapes, in addition to black metal- inspired riffing and atmospheric keyboard passages, contain folk elements such as acoustic guitars , flutes and clear vocals with medieval elements inspired melodies and non-typical metal instruments like the accordion combined. Sköll draws ideas from neofolk , classical arrangements and pagan metal . The dominant feature is clear vocals, which have been compared to that of Odroerir singer Stickel, but without any dialectic influence, and the acoustic guitar. As a counterpart to this, Sköll repeatedly uses black metal-inspired, heavily keyboard-heavy passages.

The debut album features songs in German , English and Romanian . For Sköll, the choice of language depends on the subject of the text; for treating the Nibelungenlied as a German heroic epic, for example, only German texts would come into question; he did not want “to let this great work degenerate into a cheap fantasy comedy”. He tries “not only to 'entertain', but also wants to give something to the listener. I get confirmation when I read some reviews and notice that they have recognized the seriousness of my work and positively evaluate that I do not have these eternal 'high the horns' texts. It's more of a musical history lesson. Our cultural history with its myths , heroic sagas and fairy tales is very important to me . After all, they are part of what Germany, a country of poets and thinkers, is all about. But unfortunately I have to see how many, especially young people, no longer know anything about it because it is no longer taught in school. Today only the new, the modern count. However, this is very short-lived and short-lived and will wither as quickly as the withered leaves in autumn. That is why more and more people long for something permanent and the values ​​and works of our ancestors are viewed from a completely new (positive) point of view. “On Loyalty & Treason , the texts are inspired by Germanic mythology and the Nibelungenlied . With the exception of the older Ragnarök , which was originally written in English and the final version is partly German and partly English , they are in contemporary German.

Discography

  • 1996: Never more crowning than what was once (demo)
  • 1997: Never more crowning than what was once (Folter Records)
  • 2004: Demo 2004 (Demo)
  • 2008: Loyalty & Treason (Folter Records)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Arathorn , accessed on February 11, 2013.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Falk Schweigert: Interview with Arathorn: Hot for the Sun , October 12, 2008, accessed on February 11, 2013.
  3. ^ Arathorn - Loyalty & Treason (2008). Retrieved February 8, 2013 .