Independent Release
Review by Vard Aman
What an apt name for an album! Guaho are back with their second full length album, after their brilliant first offering, “На Пути в Икстлан” (“Na Puti v Ixtlan” – “On the Way to Ixtlan”). You can read the review of that album, as well as a brief introduction to the band here. If you’re feeling too lazy to read it (tut, tut!), here is a brief summary: Guaho are from St. Peterburg in Russia and play an esoteric brand of Gothic Metal, lyrically based around all things occult, but particularly the Mesoamerican occult practices detailed in the works of Carlos Castaneda. The band’s primary outstanding assets are the exceptional songwriting skills of Erema Nagual (a powerful Mesoamerican sorcerer skilled in the arts of shapeshifting) and the exceptional vocal skills of Daria “Mau” Ivlitskaya (an ancient Egyptian half-feline half-human goddess) combined with well thought out arrangements and excellent musicianship.
All of the elements that made up Guaho‘s sound on “Na Puti v Ixtlan” are there on “Vozvraschenie”, but the overall sound on “Vozvraschenie” is heavier and more hard hitting than on “Na Puti v Ixtlan”, particularly on songs like “Ветер” and “Цветение Сакуры” – both among the highlights on the album. There are guitar riffs throughout this album to die for, and that goes for the vocal melodies too – and the combination of the two reach their most spellbinding levels in the song “В Шепоте Нагваля”. “В Шепоте Нагваля” was previously recorded as the title track of their 2010 EP, and I’m glad this song was re-recorded for this album because… well, it’s just an amazing piece of music that needed to be heard again. (Note to Guaho: the two remaining songs on that EP are also worth re-recording at some point in my opinion.) “Vozvraschenie” is perhaps not quite as varied as “Na Puti v Ixtlan”, but when it comes to displays of brilliance, it is every bit its equal, if not even better, and certainly outdoes it in raw aural power. If you have previously overlooked this band, you need to wake up and take note, because you have two excellent albums missing from your collection. Get them… and let your body disappear in the whisper of the Nagual.
Rating – 92/100
Tracklist
- Intro
- Костры [Kostriy – Bonfires]
- Шамбала [Shambala – Shambhala]
- Цветение Сакуры [Tsvetenie Sakuriy – Blooming Sakura / Cherry Blossom]
- В Шепоте Нагваля [V Shepote Nagvalya – In the Whisper of the Nagual]
- Пустота [Pustota – Emptiness]
- Земля [Zemlya – Earth]
- Ветер [Veter – Wind]
- На Краю [Na Krayu – On the Edge]
- Смерти Вопреки [Smerti Vopreki – Defying Death]
- О, Лха! [O, Lkha! – O, Lha!]
Line Up
- Daria “Mau” Ivlitskaya – Vocals
- Erema Nagual – Guitars & Vocals
- Sergey “Naar” Makarov – Guitars
- Andrey “Andrezz” Petuhov – Keyboards
- Pavel Priladiyshev – Bass
- Vova “Hyperion” Babhin – Drums