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Search on eBay... Buy on Half.com Planeshift (2002) Elititst Records HMM Rank:   After listening to this release, I was very shocked when I went online and discovered that this is the band's debut album. For a first effort, this is very tight, polished, and creative. This Russian three-piece relly knew what they wanted to do with their music right from the beginning, and it is very impressive that only three musicians could write something as elaborate as this. I often found myself struggling to come up with the proper classification for this band (usually a good sign), but I guess the most suitable would be progressive black/folk metal. Believe me, the music is just as strange as the given genre. The raw black metal passages somehow find a comfortable home right in between the acoustic guitars, flutes, pianos, and clean vocals, making this a very diverse listen. The heavier portions of the disc are somewhat reminiscent to a less technical version of Scholomance with higher pitched vocals, while the slower, more progressive sections give off a gloomy, slightly gothic aura that actually reminds me of a less orchestral Winds. Folk/Celtic melodies are sprinkled on top of all these already intriguing musical segments with very prominent flute playing, which is actually played at the forefront of the album's heavier moments as opposed to simply being used to enhance the album's softer, acoustic moments (which it does as well). While the flute is by far the standout instrument that is likely to be the first thing that will catch your attention, the somber piano playing and atmospheric keyboard textures also add new dimensions to the music. The album kicks off with "Planeshift : Introduction" (not to be confused with the song of the same title that shows up later on) which is a nice acoustic guitar/flute duet that leads into what is easily one of the best songs on the album, "Fear (Wasn't in the Design)". This song starts off with an ominous piano intro that is eventually backed by heavy guitar riffing right before exploding into an upbeat and very catchy traditional folk meoldy played on the flute. Thus begins a fantastic alteration between clean and screamed vocals, as well as plenty of tempo and mood changes. Following this track there is another calm instrumental that leads into another one of my favorite tracks on the album, "The Dark Heart of Uukrul". This song is basically the same format as "Fear", and has a very nice guitar/flute intro. Another notable mention is the very progressive oriented "The Unquiet Grave". After heaping nothing but praise upon this album, it is now time to explain where the two star deduction came from. Basically, there is too much filler on the album. While some songs (like the ones mentioned before) will probably get stuck in your head and beg for repeated listens, others can sometimes get repetative and boring. On occasion I found myself saying things like "A new riff would sound good at this part", but the song would end up going back into something that has already been played numerous times. Some songs just don't grab you and captivate you as much as other songs do. I know it's a very vague statement, but I can't think of any other way to say it. I'd like to shift back into a more positive mindset now by saying that this is a good band that has the potential to be great. I think that what they are doing is creative, unique, and interesting, and they are without a doubt on the right track, but in my personal opinion, they could make a few slight touch-ups in the songwriting department. I know that a follow-up album has already been released for some time now, and I'd just like to say that the minor flaws of this album are not going to hold me back from looking into it. Keep a lookout for this band in the future. -- Bill McGuinnes Reviewed 01/11/2005 Track Listing 1 Planeshift (Intro) 1:33 2 Fear (Wasn't in the Design) 5:18 3 Noldor Exodus 3:58 4 The Dark Hand of Uurkul 3:58 5 Og'elend 5:06 6 Planeshift 6:18 7 Gorthaur Aulendil 5:34 8 Mountain God 5:53 9 The Unquiet Grave 8:17 10 Outro 1:17 Official Rakoth Website ©2005 Harvest Moon Music