Greek Pagan black metal warriors KAWIR have posted "DIONYSUS", a track from the bands anticipated new release "FATHER SUN, MOTHER MOON", due to be unleashed 4/29/2016 via IRON BONEHEAD PRODUCTIONS.
KAWIR unleashed "ISOTHEOS", 10/11/2012 via DEATHRUNE PRODUCTIONS.
FROM IRON BONEHEAD PRODUCTIONS:
IRON BONEHEAD PRODUCTIONS is proud to present the long-awaited new
album of legendary Greek black metallers KAWIR, Father Sun Mother Moon.
Since 1993, KAWIR have been one of the unsung pillars of the classic
Greek black metal sound. While the names Rotting Christ, Varathron, and
Necromantia are incredibly important to that style's foundation, it was
KAWIR who kept the faith during the '90s and into the new millennium. In
1994, the then-young band released two pivotal 7"s, Eumenides and a
split with Japan's Sigh - on the pivotal Cacophonous Records, no less -
and then followed those up in 1996 with the To Cavirs MLP, which is the
first truly pagan-oriented record to hail from the Greek black metal
scene. With that mini-album, KAWIR set about on a Hellenistic crusade to
celebrate their native gods and mythology in their lyrics and sartorial
presentation. From the late '90s onward, the band continued to remain
prolific, perpetually committed to fine-tuning their idiosyncratic
craft, culminating in underground classics Arai (2005) and Ophiolatreia
(2008). Although 2012's Ισόθεος featured a cross-continental lineup, the
album further solidified KAWIR's status as unique icons in the black
metal underground. Alas, with the highly anticipated Father Sun Mother
Moon, KAWIR return to an all-Greek lineup and recast their classic sound
in a whole new light.
In many ways, Father Sun Mother Moon is a
record that could've hailed from the early days of KAWIR's pagan
transition. A mysticism from ancient times blankets these hymns to the
Hellenic Pantheon, made all the more stirring by being delivered in
actual Ancient Greek Language. The incorporation of ethic instruments
and atmospheres lends Father Sun Mother Moon not only an authenticity
that is extremely difficult to replicate, but a very literally
otherworldly aura that brims with the triumph and tragedy, enlightenment
and bloodlust, of Greece's ancient mythological canon. In fact, the
album was recorded nine kilometers away from the legendary Thermopylae.
"We tried to catch the original epic vibe that surrounds the ancient
lands," says founding guitarist Therthonax. Indeed, with recording,
mixing, and mastering taking place at Locomotive Studio during October
through December of 2015 (with acoustic parts and vocals recorded at
Dope of Sound), the totality of this experience is stirred into every
note of the album, as the past is brought to the present - and all the
more so with the return of vocalist Porphyrion, whose throaty rasp help
make Ophiolatreia such a beloved album among KAWIR fans new and old.
But the reflection vs. refraction connection doesn't just end there.
The cascading aggression brought forth on Ophiolatreia and then
amplified even further on Ισόθεος is rejuvenated once more on Father Sun
Mother Moon. And yet, without losing an ounce of their windswept power,
KAWIR season this surge with subtle nuance and keen shifts of dynamics,
verily making each of these 10 tracks an epic in their own respective
right. Altogether, the album encompasses the passion and poignancy for
which KAWIR have made their stock in trade for over 20 years now. That
it brings everything "full circle," as it were, is far from
coincidental, too. "The title Father Sun Mother Moon symbolizes the
circle of life," Therthonax explains, "a return to the ancient days when
we were celebrating the male Sun deities at the longest nights of the
year - the Winter Solstice - and female Moon deities at the longest days
of the year - the Summer Solstice - at the full moons and at nights
when the silver light wasn't visible. The two opposite edges of the
cosmic pendulum of equilibrium where the eternal forces, although in
constant battle, coexist and where, in their ever-changing balance, the
world is manifested - the same world where we find ourselves in. For the
life-giving principles of light and darkness, for the male and female
forces that surround us, all honors due!"
(Nathan T. Birk)
Release Date 4/29/2016
VIDEO BELOW: KAWIR: "DIONYSUS" (COURTESY OF IRON BONEHEAD RECORDS):
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-