Интернет-магазин MetalCD.ru: ГРАЙ " Полынь - трава " (Ltd. Digipack CD) 300 руб. (SoundAge/Россия) Купить! Состав группы: Andrey Posokh – ударные.
Russian Melodic Folk Metal - 81%. TheStormIRide. November 14th, 2013.
ГРАЙ - Полынь - Трава (Warmot The Bitter Grass) by GRAI ( Грай), released 01 September 2009 1. Встретим лето, встретим лето красное 2. Ветры 3. Выйду. Исполнитель: Грай Альбом: О Земле Родной Год выхода: 2011 Страна: Исполнитель: Грай Альбом: Полынь - Трава Год выхода: 2009.
Грай is a Russian folk metal band that was formed back in 2005 as Ravens Blood. The band then changed their name to Вopor in 2006 and finally settled on Грай in 2007.
Интернет-магазин MetalCD.ru: ГРАЙ " Полынь - трава " (Ltd. Digipack CD) 300 руб. (SoundAge/Россия) Купить! Состав группы: Andrey Posokh – ударные. Грай. Showing all (3). Issues. AverageAvg. Ratings. Reviews. Title. /. Release Date. 2.83. 8. 1. Полынь трава. 2009. +1. 3.32. 60. 1. О Земле Родной. 2011. ГРАЙ - folk metal band -. ГРАЙ - Полынь-Трава - 2009. ГРАЙ - О Земле Родной - 2011. ГРАЙ - Полынь-Трава - 2009 · ГРАЙ - О Земле Родной - 2011.
The band currently has a demo, a single and two full length albums under their belt. "Полынь-Трава” is the band's debut full length album, which was originally released back in 2009. Having been recently picked up by Vic Records, both of Грай's previous full length albums were reissued, with "О Земле Родной" re-released in 2012 and "Полынь-Трава" re-released in 2013. "Полынь-Трава" is a fairly by the numbers folk metal album, with plenty of nods to the Slavic folk metal scene. There are a lot of bands playing this style in recent years, with the numbers seemingly rising daily. Грай's sound fits alongside country mates Arkona, that being more of a traditional folk style than many of Europe's "party folk" styled bands such as Korpiklaani and the like.
That's not to say that Грай doesn't have their share of upbeat, almost drunken anthems on "Полынь-Трава", it's just their focus seems to be on their native folk instrumentation rather than boozing and wailing on a fiddle. The select upbeat sections are solid, but Грай's true talent is in forging an ethnic sound while staying decidedly metal. The main folk instrumentation on this album is flutes with a few sections of bagpipes. The flute lines are cyclical and almost mesmerizing at times, like during “Песня о Печали и о Подвиге” and “Зима”. and serve as the emphasis rather than an accompaniment. The guitars serve two purposes: one of happy melodic guitar lines which range from acoustically strummed lines to simplistic melodies that follow the patterns of the flute or pipes and the other consisting of palm muted power chord progressions that are forceful yet simplistic.
The drums follow suit as well, mostly consisting of varying rock beat rhythms with some treks into rhythmic double bass runs like on “Волга-Река и Леля-Девица”. When the band brings the metal they make it heavy but it never takes the focus away from the more traditional folk instruments. The vocals follow suit, with both heavy growls and melodic feminine counterparts. Much like every other act that utilizes the beauty and the beast styled vocals, the melodic female vocals ring high and clear, although in their own charming Eastern European kind of way, and the growled vocals are more of a death metal style, with mid-range, gravelly vocals, which are emphasized on “Скорбь и Память”. The melodic female vocals are impressive, being extremely clear, yet retaining an extremely ethnic feel, adding to the native feel of the music.
One of my issues with Грай's style is how the folk instrumentation is constant; so constant, in fact, that there are no breaks into downright heaviness. Even when the guitars get a little more crunch and the drums pound a little harder, the flute melodies are still there.
The melodic vocals are the definite majority throughout and the deeper vocals are just kind of thrown into the mix every so often. The mix between melodic and metal almost seems haphazardly thrown together at times, but the end result is still what it set out to be: folk metal. I really enjoy this album, as the folk melodies and the female vocals are oftentimes captivating. The constant folk elements can be a bit draining at times, but it keeps “Полынь-Трава” feeling like a Russian folk metal album. This is a solid representation of an ever-growing scene and shows a band with much potential.
If you dig folk metal of any kind, you should at least check this album out. Hopefully the wider distribution of their albums through Vic Records will bring Грай's music to a larger audience. Written for The Metal Observer:.
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