''Kurbads'' is the fifth studio album by the Latvian

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...

band

Skyforger Skyforger is a heavy metal band from Latvia which was formed in 1995 out of the remains of doom metal band Grindmaster Dead. Musical style and lyrical themes Most of their songs are about Baltic mythology and warfare; they also play Latvian ...

. The album was released on 26 April 2010 in

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and on 11 May 2010 in the

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through

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...

Recording and production

On 12 September 2008, Skyforger announced that the band had entered the studio to record their newest album. The recording took place at the band's former folk instrumentalist Kaspars' studio "Lauska", who was not an active member of the band anymore, but handled the

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ing duties and appeared on the album. On May 7, 2009 the frontman Pēteris revealed the title and theme of the album.Album title and theme revealed - Kurbads!
/ref> On 2 March, 2010 Skyforger posted online their first single "Son of the Mare" and revealed album cover, as well as the track list. One day later the band published a studio report on their official

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channel. In a later interview Pēteris recalled the album's recording process:

Musical style and lyrical themes

On the same Facebook post revealing the album's title and theme Pēteris also described the meaning of the name "Kurbads" and what to expect lyric-wise: Alex Henderson of

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in review described the musical style of the album as an "epic combination of black metal, death metal, thrash metal, Bathory, Iron Maiden, and East European folk".

Reception

''Kurbads'' has received positive reviews from music critics. George Pacheco of

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gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and called it the band's "stylistic and creative peak." Mike Stagno of Sputnikmusic gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and summarized his review as "A solid, if generally unspectacular offering from Latvia's finest." The album's only weak points, as noted by the reviewers, is the cover art that George Pacheco called "cheesy", as well as the vocal delivery of Pēteris whose harsh shouts Mike Stagno described as "irritating at the best of times" and noted the lack of high pitched growl utilization.

Track listing

# Curse of the Witch – 05:04 # Son of the Mare – 05:26 # The Nine-headed – 03:56 # Bewitched Forest – 05:15 # In the Yard of the Father's Son – 00:39 # The Devilslayer – 05:05 # The Stone Sentinel – 04:56 # In the Underworld – 04:13 # Black Rider – 04:16 # The Last Battle – 05:38 # Kurbads (bonus track) – 05:11

Personnel

Skyforger * Edgars "Zirgs" – bass,

ģīga The ģīga or divstīdzis is a two-stringed bowed zither found in Latvia. The instrument is descended from the psalmodicon ( or ''manihorka''), a bowed monochord developed in Sweden in 1829 for liturgical singing. From there it filtered down to ...

, backing vocals * Pēteris "Peter" – vocals, guitars, lyrics * Edgars "Mazais" – drums, backing vocals * Kaspars Bārbals –

dūdas ''Dūdas'' or ''somas stabules'' is a type of bagpipe native to Latvia, popular from the 16th to 18th centuries. History The instrument is believed to have first appeared in Livonia in the 15th century, with the first documentary evidence of ...

kokles Kokle (; ) or historically kokles (''kūkles'') is a Latvian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Lithuanian kanklės, Estonian kannel, Finnish kantele, and ...

stabule Stabule, also known as stebule or stabuļa, is a Latvian woodwind instrument made from various materials like wood, bark, and reeds. It consists of a tube with a whistle and finger holes, typically producing a diatonic scale. The oldest known L ...

, backing vocals * Mārtiņš Pētersons – guitars, backing vocals Guest musicians * Sandis Korps – additional vocals * Ģirts "Motors" Kļaviņš – additional vocals Other personnel * Gerda Buša – photography * Gints Lundbergs – mixing, mastering * Pēteris "Peter" – design, English translations, layout * Andis "Hopkins" – English translations * Ojārs Kalniņš – English translations * Valdis Bērzvads – design, layout * Mārtiņš Pētersons – cover art, artwork

References

External links

Official translation of the lyrics in English
{{Authority control 2010 albums Skyforger albums Metal Blade Records albums