Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant entry to ethno metal!, March 23, 2007
*Note - This album was originally released in December of 2005. On that version, only This Battle Is Yours, Symphony of Life, Nahash, Pulse, Save and Heal, and Nowhereness were included.*
I suppose the best way to begin is by talking a little bit about Spi-Ritual's forerunner, Stefan Hertrich. For those who may not be familiar with his other projects (past and present), Hertrich is the founder of Darkseed (1994 - 2006), Shiva In Exile (2003 to present), Betray My Secrets (1999), and a small side project he did in 1999, Sculpture. An important thing to make note of is Hertrich's knack for creating very distinctive music. Every album he has ever released for any of his projects have had their own unique sound. That said, with the exception of Shiva In Exile's "Ethnic", there were a few elements that remained the same on each album. These traits being that the lyrics were generally negative and depressing. After realizing this himself, Hertrich set out to create Spi-Ritual on the other side of the spectrum.
So here we are, with the late 2005 release of Spi-Ritual's "Pulse". I like to classify "Pulse" as a brilliant entry into the Ethno Metal genre, and that Stefan is one of the most important innovators to the genre. As the name implies, Spi-Ritual is as heavy as any metal band, retaining harsh vocals, brutal guitars, and a pounding drumline, but equally utilizes distinctive ethnic elements - mainly instruments and vocals from the Middle/Far East. As I had mentioned earlier, Stefan wanted to create music that was unlike his previous projects. This said, the instrumental work is aggressive, but the lyrics are positive outlooks on life. While it may take a listen or two to realize, all of the songs provide a sense of positive energy, and despite the aggressive sound, it is calming all the same.
Another aspect of Spi-Ritual that is not mecessarily unique, but done exceptionally well, is the format of the group. Stefan is responsible for the lyrics, vocals, rhythm guitar, bass, and keyboards, but the rest consists of contributions from other artists. Maurizio Guolo (Darkseed) provides the drums, Christian Bystron (Megaherz) lends his talents for lead guitar and the solos for 4 of the 8 tracks, while René Berthiaume (Equilibrium) and Markus Glanz (Koyaanis Qatsy) provide the other solos. Then there are Yana Veva and Gaby Koss, who both add their beautiful ethnic vocals to the tracks. Kajuyali Tsamani plays ethnic flutes and percussion instruments, and Dr. Christian Rätsch provides sampling. All of the people involved with the production of "Pulse" are simply amazing at what they do.
Finally, the songs themselves. I'm not going to bother rating each song, as they are all 5 out of 5s to me. I can't find fault with any one of them.
This Battle Is Yours: What a way to kick off "Pulse"! This song best represents the aggression of sound that I was talking about. This song was an early favorite of mine.
Symphony of Life: This (along with the track Pulse) is truly an epic song. Clocking in at about 7 and a half minutes, Symphony switches between fast and slow tempos, and captivates its listeners with inspiring lyrics.
Nahash: Nahash starts out with about a 2 minute intro of female ethnic vocals and instruments, and quite unexpectingly (or maybe not?) the song breaks out into a catchy, fast guitar riff. Soon after, Hertrich's vocals kick in. This song took me the longest to get into, but is now one of my favorites.
Pulse: As one would expect, the title track best represents the album. Much like Nahash, Pulse starts with a slower paced time period (about 2 minutes) of ethnic instruments and female vocals. But unlike Nahash, Stefan provides his voice in a calm, clean demeanor...a rarity and highlight of "Pulse". After this slow phase, the guitars and drums kick in, and Stefan's harsh vocals return. Another highlight is the addition of not one, but two guitar solos! Pulse clocks in at about 8 and a half minutes, and is even more epic than Symphony of Life.
Khundas: Khundas is a very different beast from the rest of "Pulse." There are no metal elements, and Stefan doesn't sing. This is actually a Shiva In Exile song that will be released once again on it's own respective album. As such, it is all female ethnic vocalwork and instrumentals. Look forward to Shiva In Exile's next album to hear this song and others like it.
You Believe: While all of "Pulse's" songs showcase Hertrich's brilliant lyricist skills, You Believe has one of the most inspiring set of lyrics of the bunch. Some of you may notice that the drums sound a little less lively than the rest of the songs, but this is because You Believe was added to this release along with Khundas, after the rest of the songs had already been completed.
Save and Heal: The slowest paced song of the album, Save and Heal has my favorite guitar solo. It seems redundant to keep saying this, but the lyrics are very uplifting and inspiring.
Nowhereness: A 2 and a half minute track without Stefan's vocalwork. Instead, it is a nice closer, using only the ethnic instruments and vocals, but with a solo done by Christian Bystron.
All and all, this is my favorite album in my entire library of cds, and has been for the past year (if that hasn't become apparent by now!). I highly, highly recommend "Pulse" to any listener of metal, ethnic music, or anyone just looking for a different sound. Unlike much of today's music, "Pulse" has a purpose. Lyrics that genuinely mean something, as well as great musicianship. For anyone still unsure about this album.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting material, but not a masterpiece, October 30, 2006
This is an interesting combination of death metal and ambiental music. This is a solo effort of Stefan Hertrich (Darkseed).
I had doubts on this CD, since I'm not a fan of Darkseed. Technically, this album is not far from Darkseed. But the ethnic flavor make this material somewhat different. Why ethnic flavor and not ethnic sound? It's because the melodies are not truely ethnic, but are sung and played in that way. Anyway, it's a pretty decent forgery.
This album is good, but definitely not a masterpiece. It is NOT similar in any way to Orphaned Land's "Mabool", since it has completely different ethnic musical background (Indian, South American, etc). Technically- it's weaker. And the guys form Orphaned Land grown up with the music they are playing, but Stefan has not grown up with this.
If I went in a deeper analisys, I would find more faults to it. But I like listening to this album. It's different. It's very good for relaxation, because it has lots of tranquil parts.
The booklet artwork is great.
I haven't made a mistake buying this CD.
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- the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
