A thoroughly powerful and emblematic rhapsodic pagan BM deeply rooted in local culture, Paganland displays on From Carpathian Land a more organic and esoteric black metal, centered on a reflexive and poetic philosophy of immaterial essence, everlasting wisdom and silent harmony, going far beyond the usual steps of genre. With some aggressive sound, of course, they manage to standardize a ritualistic sonorous strength, filled with an impetuous vigor and a truthful resonance, which certainly makes this album a great milestone of the genre. With a marvelous set of rapid rhythms, nonetheless, Paganland manages to sound original and authorial, looking way more as a teacher of the genre, than just a hostile student.
With some exceedingly symphonic influences, and a joyful abysmal sound, that resembles a philosophy class, filled with wisdom and lucidity, nothing can be said of From Carpathian Land, besides the fact that it is, in fact, a great and marvelous masterpiece: a new approach to black metal, and a new form of artistic genre understanding and evolution, regarding extreme blackened pagan metal, as a whole. What a marvelous and grandiloquent album: already captures the listener in the first track – a simple but beautiful intro, that mesmerizes the listener, in a very beautiful paradoxical gloomy melody, that eternalizes winter in the dubious spheres of the mortifying anxieties of your soul.
With a style of their own, developed in a very different category of black metal, Paganland really does justice – besides introducing real significance – to what the term “pagan” really means in metal. And with a furious, but very artistic sound, filled with the most profound components of their own culture and heritage, From Carpathian Land begins a new chapter in the history of extreme metal. Consolidating an interesting style that doesn’t neglect the melodies over the rhythm – and yet, had managed to do a very powerful and heavy album – Paganland has everything to become one of the greatest acts in the history of the underground in the future, if they manage to do more fantastic albums like this one, with such a groundbreaking degree of artistic excellence (and I know they will).
Despite being very brief – having only seven tracks – From Carpathian Land has everything an excellent extreme pagan metal album is entitled to, to please its audience. An uncommon, major, unique, exceedingly refined and majestic record, no doubt about that!
Wagner