Ukraine metal band IGNEA have released their album Realms Of Fire And Death. Realms Of Fire And Death is a concept album. It is in three parts, each consisting of three songs. The songs feature the themes of fire and death from various perspectives.
Queen Dies sets the scene with a stunning middle eastern feel. Dmitry Vinnichenko’s energetic guitar rhythm powers through this track. Helle Bogdanova’s vocals pierce the ambience with the beauty of the crescendo. Evgeny Zhytnyuk’s keyboard piece adds to the melodic power of the guitars. During this track, these lyrics caught my attention, “Let them be warning for anyone who fakes, Their souls and bodies for my death men await”.
Чорне Полум’я gives us a raw and brutal ambience during the intro. It’s a beautiful and stunning song featuring the bands native language. Alexander Kamyshin’s bass delivers its own raw quality within this track. Helle’s vocals are elegant but also offer a guttural touch to the lyrics . Ivan Kholmohorov’s drums are full of adrenaline filled beats. The track is full of brutal and refined qualities.
Out Of My Head starts off with Alexander’s powerful bass-line giving us dynamic riffs in this track. Dmitry’s guitar riffs give us ferocity and adrenaline. Helle’s vocals engaged us with beauty and rawness within this track. This piece is full of guttural quality and fist pumping riffs.
Í Tokuni is an EIVØR cover. The track starts off with Dmitry’s guitar riffs that offers us an explosion of raw energy. Ivan’s drumbeats were intense and adrenaline filled. You can hear Helle’s passionate vocals within this track. Evgeny’s keyboard rhythm flows through the track seamlessly.
Too Late To Be Born features a stunning electronic piece accompanied by Alexander’s bass riffs. Dmitry’s guitar rhythm provides a fast-paced adrenaline filled addition. Helle’s vocals are full of guttural quality. During the song, the adrenaline was flowing and my head was moving in time to the track. These lyrics were particularly memorable, “This is my place, I lose myself here, this is my grace, decayed as it is.”.
What For starts off with beautiful middle eastern intro. The symphonic elements flow through. This entices the listeners with its elegant orchestration. Helle’s vocals are accompanied by Dmitry’s guitar riffs. Power and intensity are bought forth into this track by this addition. These lyrics caught my attention during this track because of its enraged intent; “Everyone has their weakness, but this is unforgivable, don’t tell you’re sorry”.
Gods Of Fire starts off with Ivan’s drum orchestration. Alexander’s bass roars into the track with raw heavy riffs. Helle’s exquisite vocals paint the tale of gods from different cultures. These lyrics I felt communicated the tale well. “Gods of fire hear my desire, from vaults of mountains and solar skies, light my fingers, while my being lingers”.
Jinn Slammer features Alexander’s powerful raw gritty bass-line. Dmitry’s guitar riffs are atmospheric and emotionally charged. Helle’s vocals enter the song portraying the emotions in her vocals. The tracks feature elegant and bewitching middle eastern rhythms. These lyrics are very striking and resonate the eloquence behind them; “Strike a match, let’s make it bright, burn all candles at one time, may they wish they were in hell, There’s no smoke without a fire”.
Disenchantment starts off with beautiful middle eastern rhythms. Alexander’s bass that once again blows us away with his high-powered riffs. The track features a intense performance from the band. Helle’s vocals are exceptional giving the track a brutal but graceful feel. This track reminds me of a cross between ORPHANED LAND and AMORPHIS.
Black Flame starts off with Alexander’s dominate and powerful bass riffs. Helle’s vocals give you this majestic tale. Ivan’s drum patterns dominate the backing track with his power and dynamic beats. This track is brutal but elegant and features an array of talent from the band . A perfect choice to end this well-orchestrated album.
IGNEA has released an album that is professionally written from start to finish. This album features raw guttural quality that are performed with brilliance. This is an album that should be savoured. This will be enjoyed by the fans and make new ones along the way.
Rating: 10/10
Words: Becky Weale
The Realms Of Fire And Death is out now.
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