Label : Stygian Crypt Productions
Review by Tony Cannella
From Russia, the band Fferyllt was born in 2003, but did not release their full-length debut “Dance of Druids” until 2009. Even though this album is only two years old, I believe the band has undergone a number of line-up changes since its release. Fferyllt plays Celtic influenced Folk-Metal. Musically, the band mixes in all of the usual Folk-Metal elements to produce a cool new offering to the genre. Fferyllt has two lead singers, the versatile operatic female singer Yanina is joined by growling style vocals of Rustam. In addition to the usual metal instruments (guitar, bass, drums, etc.), Fferyllt also utilizes a number of folk-ish instruments to give “Dance of Druids” an air of authenticity. Musically, the band recalled – for me, anyway – the great British band Skyclad (remember them?) at times, but vocally they are a totally different animal. The vocal exchanges between Yanina and Rustam (who are both no longer with the band) provide the listener with beautiful melodies as they clash with the more aggressive style of metal that Rustam’s style gives us. Fferyllt are at their best on the heavier material, like “Night of the Woodgod”, “Warriors of Ireland” (the best song) and the last two cover versions of “LAI LAI HEI” (Ensiferum) and “Inis Mona” (Eluveitie) that closes “Dance of Druids”. At times vocalist Yanina’s operatic approach can be a bit over-the-top, but she also puts in quality performances on some of the more melodic material, like “Following Skadi”, “Dance of Druids” and “Winds of Trondheimsfjorden”. At times, “Dance of Druids” comes across as a bit uneven quality wise, but there is still enough good things going on to recommend Fferyllt.
Rating – 71/100
Tracklist
- A Celtic Tale (Intro)
- Night of the Woodgod
- Following Skadi
- Dance of Druids
- Autumn’s Gold
- Warriors of Ireland
- Winds of TrondheimsfjordenJule
- Gjallarhorn
- Lai Lai Hei (Ensiferum Cover)
- Inis Mona (Eluveitie Cover)
Line Up
- Yanina Zelenskaya – Vocals
- Rustam Borzov – Growl
- Alexey Godlewskiy – Guitar
- Andrey Awdik – Guitar
- Alexander Lebedev – Bass
- Dmitriy Eliseev – Keyboards, drum-machines, acoustic guitar, bodhran, mouth harp & arrangements
Links
MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Site