Votum - Harvest Moon (Digipak Edition) (2013)

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Votum - Harvest Moon (Digipak Edition) (2013)

Príspevokod užívateľa Horex » 12 Apr 2021, 18:35

Votum - Harvest Moon (Digipak Edition) (2013)

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Year : 2013
Style : Progressive Rock , Progressive Metal
Country : Poland
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 170 mb


Bio:

Votum is a Polish progressive rock and progressive metal band from Warsaw, founded in 2002.The band was formed in 2002. In the same year the demo Bow to the Sound was released. In 2006 the single Jestern was released, which was included in Heavy Metal Pages magazine. Later that year the line-up of the band changed. In 2008 the debut album Time Must Have a Stop was released.The publication took place via ProgRock Records. The albums Metafiction (2009) and Harvest (2013) were released via Mystic Production.In 2014 Votum replaced the band Headspace at ProgPower Europe.The current album is: Ktonik: which was released on Inner Wound Recordings (Alive) in February 2016.

Album:

Ever since I discovered Metafiction, I've been very interested in Votum and was very curious about what would they bring with a third album. The answer took a longer while, as Harvest Moon was delayed multiple times due to a variety of issues, finally being released over three years after its predecessor. This could most likely mean two things - a tired album as the result of a tiresome creative process as it sometimes happens, or a complex, polished record with every detail taken care of.I can very happily say this is one of the best cases of the latter I've come across, and this is another case of Votum sticking to their nice habit of keeping everything that was great about the previous album while adding a ton of new, excellent ideas. The result in a record which is even better and significantly different, while having plenty of familiar points. The most noticeable fact is that Harvest Moon is much longer than the first two albums, which were both pretty concise with around 50 minutes of length, while this time we're given a pretty massive piece of nearly 70 minutes of music. A thing which definitely remains intact, though, is that as always, the album is a concept album, with the concept being noticeable throughout and the songs being tied together, but every song is still an independent piece nevertheless. (The concept story itself is definitely more complex as well, and it's difficult to explain in one-two sentences.Another very obvious change, and this is one that probably everyone welcomes happily: for the first time, the production of the album is genuinely damn good. The previous albums had their obvious weaknesses in this department, on Harvest Moon however, Votum were finally able to allow the music to shine to its absolutely full potential. And there is a lot to shine here, as another thing I've always enjoyed about this band is that the music is clearly band-oriented. With a not so small lineup of 6 musicians, there's always a risk of someone being overshadowed by other instruments (the bassists suffer from this the most often), and yet everything and everyone here has their own significant contribution to the music. The most subtle, but huge amount of work when listening carefully, is done by the keyboardist Zbigniew Szatkowski, who adds lots of delicate but significant ambient effects throughout the album without which it just wouldn't have such a strong atmosphere (they also serve as a sort of connecting element between most tracks), and most importantly for me, some subtle piano, which doesn't draw immediate attention but simply adds beauty, just as it was on Metafiction. Thankfully, the bass here is also difficult to overlook, as Bartek Turkowski's style is generally very interesting, and he especially gets more space in quieter sections (Dead Ringer wouldn't be half as ominous without his bass lines).And the fact that the bass doesn't get buried by the wall of sound of two guitars (partially also thanks to the genuinely good production) doesn't mean they do less or nothing impressive. The classic Votum guitar duo of Adam Kaczmarek and Alek Salamonik has, in my opinion, clearly spread its wings on this album, providing plenty of heavy, dissonant riffing (such as in Cobwebs), as well as lots of beautiful, powerful melodies, through the leads driving a lot of the album and several wonderful solos. Their guitar work goes all the way from dark, crushing, Opeth-like regions (for example in the majestic, heavy riff in Ember Night) to beautiful, melancholic melodic playing which might be slightly reminiscent of A Natural Disaster-era Anathema. In the guitar department, there's also one very remarkable addition: this is the first Votum album to contain an acoustic guitar, and while I admit to having a huge soft spot for this instrument, I think it's quite obvious it contributes to this album's style enormously. Appearing in a couple of tracks (notably in both Numb songs, to which I will return later), they usually serve either as an introduction, immediately creating atmosphere, or a moment of breath (such as after the intense intro of First Felt Pain, which is otherwise a rather melodic track). The latter also exposes another of the band's strengths - the drumming on the album is nothing less than excellent, sometimes with the necessary, heavy metal power of a massive cargo train, but often with a wonderful precision and subtlety. Most of the "ballad-ish" sections have some great, subtle rhythm underneath, while some more technical moments of the album, such as the quieter but dynamic section of Cobwebs, show some absolutely top notch technical drumming.There is only one part of the band I haven't mentioned yet, and well, he's most likely the most difficult one to overlook - Maciej Kosiński's distinctive singing style has always been an important part of Votum's sound, and while there is no revolution here, he just does his best on the album. Being also the mastermind behind the concept and lyrics on the album, he's very credible in bringing his (rather sad) character to life, whether he sings with a subtle, delicate style, or with power and passion. His style is a bit nasal which might not be everyone's taste, but in my opinion he's just right for the music on the album, and I also enjoy the fact he's not that easy to compare to the most known progressive singers, being pretty unique overall. At a few points he also brings some new ideas, such as a few much lower, darker sections in Dead Ringer, which is by far the darkest and most ominous track on the record.Although the whole album has a very dark and strong atmosphere, and pretty much the only "sort of optimistic" song here is New Made Man, which is also the closest thing the album has to a single; it's a very good track however, with some dynamic rock riffing and a powerful chorus. Several tracks also have a lighter, more melancholic feel, my personal favourite here being probably Bruises, which has some very beautiful, delicate moments (especially the acoustic intro) and piano work; Steps in the Gloom is also noteworthy, as I'd say it's the biggest grower on the album - it felt overlong and not very interesting at first, but it reveals its beauty and melancholy over time, created by subtle keyboards and guitars. On the other hand, there are some crushingly heavy moments - for example, Cobwebs is possibly one of the most accessible tracks, with its excellent palm-muted opening riff with a dissonant melody on top of it and some more technical sections afterwards (it's also the traditional Votum "one track on the album with a bit of harsh vocals"), while Coda is my favourite on the entire album, being a 6-minute trip through insanity, jumping between intense riffing and a few more melancholic, even poetic sections. Finally, putting it all together is the opener, Vicious Circle; if I had to pick a song which represents the album well, it's this one and also one of my favourites, demonstrating a variety of heavier riffing, beautiful leads and softer sections.There is a track, however, which clearly stands out and is similar to nothing done previously by Votum, and in fact I don't think I know anything similar at all - it's called Numb and is basically in the middle of the album. It's quite difficult to describe, being something between an acoustic ballad and a melancholic folk song, with even some tribal percussion added later. This description may sound weird, but it's genuinely beautiful, containing also some great vocal harmonies. The album outro (as I'd consider Coda the "main" closer) is a kind of its continuation or variation, being much shorter and more acoustic guitar-oriented, ending the album on a less dark note than Coda would.If I had to name a weakness of this album, there's only one: it's genuinely massive. I mentioned Opeth before, and in a way this is the only comparison I'd rationally bring up on this album; not that much musically (I avoid musical comparisons of this kind like a plague to be honest), but rather in the more "foresty" atmosphere the album has, and most importantly, the way the album is constructed - it's big, it's long, and it may seem a bit unfriendly at first. This is not one of these albums that will instantly leave you with a ton of catchy choruses and riffs in your head (and I think Metafiction was like this in a way), it does require time, and it may feel overwhelming. But while saying it's a "journey" may sound pretentious or overused to some, it perfectly describes Harvest Moon. It's also a sad journey, mostly. But there are so many amazing views throughout...

Line Up:

Maciej Kosiński - Vocals (2002-present)
Bartek Turkowski - Bass
Adam Łukaszek - Drums
Zbigniew Szatkowski - Keyboards
Aleksander Salamonik - Guitars (2002-present)
Adam Kaczmarek - Guitars (2002-present)

Tracklist:

01. Vicious Circle 08:09
02. Cobwebs 05:01
03. First Felt Pain 06:52
04. New Made Man 05:27
05. Numb 05:01
06. Ember Night 06:58
07. Bruises 07:44
08. Steps in the Gloom 07:49
09. Deadringer 06:51
10. Coda 06:35
11. Numb (Reprise) 02:36

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Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

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