CD Info
2010
Musica Production / Stormspell
10 Tracks
English Lyrics

I gotta admit, when I first heard of this band through a FaceBook contact, I was a little concerned about the name, I mean, what’s a whales’s tusk anyway. I’ve lived on a lot of oceans and I never saw one. And beyond that, what’s it got to do with music. Of course, once I heard the music, I forgot all about that concern and recognized this was damn fine symphonic, operatic Gothic, and there’s nothing I like better. But, eventually, I did get a clue regarding the name, and, it’s an interesting one. Seems that pre 19th century or so, the tusk of a narwhal was considered to be something of a cure all for pretty much any disease and, given that the tusk wasn’t on every grocery store counter, not many people got to disprove the assumption. I mean, it sounded good in theory, right? So anyway, and here’s the good part, the band suggests that good music should be able to influence the "internal anguish" which all people carry inside. Now being a degreed, certified clinical psychologist, I’ve tried a lot of approaches, most of which had only a marginal degree of success, so maybe I’ll add this to my bag of tricks. . . and raise my rates. Narwhal tusks don’t come cheap, doncha know. I’m redesigning my web page as we speak and looking for a supplier.

But, to get back to the matter at hand, this is one fine Russian band putting out a solid symphonic, operatic Gothic sound. If you like the Nightwish direction, complete in its many manifestations, this will definitely be agreeable to you. I’m not entirely sure how you go about purchasing said product, but I’m working on it, you may need to work on your Russian and start accumulating some rubles. Or make friends with some Russians on FaceBook, that’s how I did it. By the way, many of them demonstrate impeccable English and the one I met has great contacts with a lot of truly outstanding Russian musicians, I’m counting on him for more help as we go forward, especially with one of my favorite Russian bands, Dark Princess. Hopefully, we’ll have a review with them before too long. But, to get back to the subject at hand, Narwhal Tusk, let’s go with NT, provides one of the finest vocalists in the business, dark haired Russian beauty Valentina Yastremskaya. The rest of the band is pretty competent too, especially the keyboard guy who pretty much lights up the musical landscape with some scathing freehand artistry. You’ll notice that they have a somewhat varied repertoire, and I understand that’s intentional. Reviewers mention some of these influences, for instance, the complexity of the vocal arrangements, reminiscent of The Gathering. Others mention similarities to the melodies of Sonata Arctica, the harmonies of Lake of Tears and the aggressive guitar riffs of bands like Metallica. There are tragic elements to the music and the lyrics which, for me, provide that Gothic element. The band, however, doesn’t necessarily acknowledge that direction, but, to me, if the message is Gothic, then the music takes that direction as well, not an important distinction either way I guess.

The music in general is a lush symphonic driving a soaring, gorgeous vocal. Melodic, maybe, but the beauty of the material is the keyboard sound that provides a cushion of atmospheric metal over which that vocal rides. You get some solid guitars but they rarely drive the action. This is beautiful metal, as fine as you will hear. Those vocals, beautiful as they are, may be a little difficult to understand, and that’s a bit of a shame, given the solid lyrical work provided. I don’t know what the package looks like, I haven’t seen it, but these lyrics are pretty solid, any top flight American poetry major would be proud to have developed them, and I know a few. There is a passion to the delivery, you get the feeling our lady of song believes what she’s singing, her intensity matches the instrumental components in all respects. There are male vocals, clean male vocals, and some limited multiple vocal work, on songs like New Dawn New Day. They’re strong as well and work well in harmony with the lead vocal. This is just overall excellence, both instrumentally and vocally.

There’s strong variance across the multiple tracks on the CD, you get to visit a number of musical locations, you get to meet your needs whatever they are. Songs like Remedy demonstrate that ability to concentrate on the beautiful, we get a ballad that showcases the richness and captivating beauty that only the finest can provide. The keys open the song, but the vocal steals the show. Tarja never showed us anything much stronger than this. The keys focus mainly on a piano delivery, so as not to steal the thunder, very limited guitar, very limited metal in fact, just beauty. However, there is a more metal flavor that drives many of the songs, and our vocalist is no less a talent when this is the focus. My Angel seems to get mentioned in most reviews, it may be the signature title from this production, it surely doesn’t disappoint, and that metal component is quickly apparent. Our dark haired beauty takes this one in a melodic direction, but the guitars make no attempt to hide the metal, even the keyboards seem to pound, while the drums provide a killer beat.

Some songs provide an epic quality. Everfall is one of these; I even found this video which combines the music with a Russian film that seems to capture the musical direction, nice action, huh? Chick can kick some serious ass. But here we get that really nice interaction between the male and female vocal, probably the best example of that capability on the CD. And, with a female vocal like what we have here, it takes a serious voice to stay with her.

As I mentioned, there are some really strong lyrics found throughout the CD. In fact, I didn’t really find any that weren’t good. It’s seriously disturbing to live here in America and have to listen to the banality of rap knowing that Russians are producing lyrics like this. . . in a second or third language. Mourning Purple is a rocker, we get some serious guitars here, but again, our dark vocalist carries the message with a style that matches the intensity of the lyric:

I came into this world against my will / Beyond the gate was no one waiting for me
Throughout my life I walked through silent hills / But all the rest was nothingness before me
I walked through gardens and forsaken vales / All on the path I’ve once and ever chosen
I’ve seen it all and all of what remains / Still nothing could appear being worth it

Sorry folks, that’s a Gothic message, no other way to interpret it.

Another lyric of interest is provided in a track that goes in a somewhat different direction. On Waltz (As Autumn Falls) we get an interesting, and somewhat haunting introduction that leads to a keyboard based melody. It’s almost like the intro to an old time horror movie. I can see my man Dracula peeking around the corner, looking for an interesting neck. But, lyrically, we again get that direction that matches the sound, which goes in a thousand directions as it proceeds:

Soon the gardens will be mute / And the fields will turn to gold
All the streams that fill endless creeks in the woods / Will be drained as Autumn Falls
Like a teardrop in the ocean bane / Flowing to forsaken shores
When my time will come to abandon my land / I’ll be gone as Autumn Falls

Let’s hear Jay-Z do something like that.

There’s a lot of great music coming out of Russia, I’ve got several more reviews scheduled with Russian bands in the very near future. And this one is as good as any. I’m not entirely sure how you purchase the CD, but it would surely be worth the effort. If you appreciate the direction this sound represents, this is about as good as it gets.

And check my webpage, tusk therapy available soon, complete with a Gothic musical accompaniment. Russian style.

9.5 / 10

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