As Lord Wind changed label from No Colours Records to Wolftyr Production, popular demand gave fruit in the form of a re-release of his “Atlantean Monument” from 2006. This is Rob Darken’s fourth full length album in this project, apart from his place in a certain Polish black metal band known as Graveland. The music coming from Lord Wind (PL) is not built upon metal, though, but pagan influences and other elements leading into neoclassical landscapes. As Darken states on the projects homepage: “…by the power and strength of the ancient Lords of Life, Struggle and Death, I have illuminated my inevitable path. Isolated from the world I play for ghosts of the past; ancient melodies that soothe the sadness and hatred.”
“Atlantean Monument” is a journey to mysticism, surrounded by dark shadows from long lost temples. The music is deep in atmosphere, rich in mysteries, painting vivid scenes from more heroic times. Powerful choirs are surrounding bold melodies, intricate synthesizer loops and enchanting drums. All of it is weaved together into a colourful tapestry, as made for telling any kind of epic story. It could be the soundtrack to an adventurous fantasy movie, or game. I come to see the album as a stroll in the long lost city naming it, Atlantis, exploring the beauty now resting on the bottom of the ocean in all its splendour. Along the way lost songs reaches my ears, making me sink deeper into an ancient world, full of secrets, rhyming with echoes from both common myth and that strange eternal longing of humankind.
When thinking of things lost to us we tend to grow bitter, resenting the flow of time parting us from greater times. This kind of thinking is of course a kind of romanticism, which always will linger heavy among the fallen stones of Atlantis. Such an is element is very prominent in Lord Wind’s music, so might be that the degree of admiration you feel for it depends on your view on these kind of things. That feeling makes “Atlantean Monument” a refuge of sorts, but after awhile it starts to repeat itself, musically. Each song is enchanting, indeed, but they melt into shadows of a somewhat uniform creation, not so exciting as it could have been. Still, there is a feeling of majesty in this album, as it has the ability to summon mesmerizing pictures from the depths of both history, spirituality and the mighty sea.
Rating: 3/5
Written by: Navdi
Label: Wolftyr Productions (US) – Format: CD – Cat. #: WTP002
