The scythe and the harvest

Discovering old obscure releases with little or no recognition is a great past time of mine. As much as I like to boast about how much of this genre I've listened to, records always skip through the cracks, not to mention all the demos and EPs that I'm still, after all these years, clueless of. 

Furthermore, older releases also usually have that sound, you know what I'm talking about. As of today, we're looking at the first and only record by Athenian black metal band Mournblade, self-titled and originally released through Kyrck Productions & Armour in 2001. Actually, I'd like to write about that label separately one day (Wild Rags is another case of a brooding article) because of its approach and quality. 

This short-lived project featured a person named Arioch on vocals, not the Swedish frontman of Marduk but still someone that I found no information on, then Merkaal (Order of the Ebon Hand, and at the time, active on Nocternity too) on bass / guitars and vocals too. 

The drumming, plus keyboards, was done by Lethe, a.k.a. Akis Kapranos, a known name in Greece for his involvement as a writer at Metal Hammer, his general film criticism and also at the time of Mournblade, member of Order of the Ebon Hand and Septicflesh, among others. 

Lastly, additional guitars were handled by Pavlos Houliaras, later active with death metal / grindcore band Slavebreed. A charming line-up for sure, mainly driven by Order of the Ebon Hand / Nocternity members, essentially people heavily involved in the Greek black metal scene at the time. 

"All the enslaved nations of the East
are coming down upon, against few men"

A Tolkien influence is evident from Mournblade's album cover, depicting a figure that I would guess is Melkor, and when looking at the track named "Of Melkor and Ungolianthe", it could be that the rest of the blackened figure might be the giant spider. 

A magnificent artwork if you ask me, perfect for the time of its release and the nostalgic warmth it conveys, which by the way, has just been re-pressed on vinyl through His Wounds. Get one while you can. 

One would think that Mournblade is a purely Lord of the Rings-inspired record, but there are several different topics the band touched upon with the record, other than our favorite fantasy writer. A few epic, warlike tunes are included, like the glorious opener "The scythe and the Harvest", the clear reference to the battle of Thermopylae on "300", and"Aries", in what I believe is a reference to the battering ram, not the God of War Ares or the constellation (?).

There are some Greek lyrics to be found in these tracks, but there's also a track title, in Greek, "Ο αιώνιος πρόμαχος" = the eternal outpost, of the same content. Another clear reference is "On the Stone of Erech", which you already know, right? I am not sure if the second track, "White Wolf", combined with its lyrics, is linked to Elric of Melniboné (by Michael Moorcock) before you freak out about the choice of color. 

In total, there is a bunch of interesting themes in the album, despite looking like a stricter conceptual bundle at first, and it could have perfectly worked as one. But hey, all this text and I almost forgot to talk about the music!

"The ground tremors
And hands stripped from their flesh"

Mournblade's an excellent mixture indie pop and alternative electronica rooted in the late '90s... Aha, no! You'll get a superb production of old-school black metal that builds melody and atmosphere through  potent guitar riffs, generous fast-paced blast beat drumming in the vein of the Scandinavian winter whistling winds, echoed distant vocals and a great flow and variety of well-thought ideas put on paper / recorder.

Hard-hitting and inspired by the faster, more intense Norse contemporaries of the genre, indulging in the frosty riff work of bands from the other side of the continent, with a raw but powerful sound and all the expected aggression to back up its thematics.

In that way, Mournblade is not the typical Greek black metal album and most likely, it was not intended to be one, as it's more possible that it was composed as a homage to the northern sound, executed by people fascinated by it under a side project, rather than the main musical activities they had then. 

Other bands have also engaged in this practice throughout the years, but the reason this record managed to stay with me when I first discovered it was the sense of wonder I felt around the project itself. 

Also, there's not a bad moment here: amazing middle-paced melodies on "Aries!", Norsecore hack-and-slash on the opener, "White Wolf" and "Ο αιώνιος πρόμαχος" (including a neat clean vocal part), well-rounded and compositional visions on both "On the Stone of Erech" and the grandiose "300", dungeon synth on the last track... Textbook perfection.

It does not transcend the parent records that it praises, but that's beside the point. Who managed to do that anyway? The vocal performance deserves a mention, at times reaching the higher, more painful levels of screaming as you could almost hear the voice break.

This is the back cover of the LP re-press, wonderful:

 

Bonus mention: Order of the Ebon Hand & Macabre Omen - Two Years Standing Proud in Valhalla... 

In 2006, Order of the Ebon Hand connected with Macabre Omen, one of the best black metal bands from Greece in history, for a short split release as a tribute to the passing of Quorthon. 

 

The split had two tracks, one from each band, both Bathory cover songs: " Through Blood by Thunder", and "A Fine Day to Die". As much as I would have preferred just another pick than the latter, just because of how popular it is (and deserving, an absolute peak of a metal track), these recordings sound amazing.

 

The mini-release was put on 7" vinyl through the Cypriot label Necroterror Records, active around that time yet I haven't heard from them in a long time. 

 

Macabre Omen would continue with another split release of the same kind next year, "Three Years...", that time with a Canadian band named Thesyre. Unfortunately, I know nothing about it. 

 

But, what I know is that Macabre Omen's obsession with Bathory, has made it the project that it became. Gods of War - At War!