Parzival - Die Kulturnacht

Parzival is a very inspiring and epic project by all means. They are definitely a martial industrial band, and are extremely medieval in nature (Especially when you put into consideration that their name derives from a German romance based around the quest of a hero to find the Holy Grail). They definitely have their style and influences down pat, and have been around since 1992. And, Die Kulturnacht was released just last year, so you have got to think that two decades worth of talent has come round to show off something amazing, right? Well, you should give yourselves a nice big thumbs up, because Parzival has definitely delivered something that isn't for everyone, but will definitely make you want to go to your nearest Renaissance fair and act out a quest. Or just run down the street with a nice bastard sword and lop everyone's head off.

Panta Rai definitely serves to deliver a nice slice of what to expect from the rest of the album. It gives off a very nice military marching tune, with chants of "Hoo-ah!" from a troop. And by military marching tune, I of course talk about a bunch of men clad in knights' armor preparing to siege a castle, not anything modern.

The next song is called Kolowrath, and is the first song on the album to introduce the vocals, and also is an eleven minute beast. It's definitely slower than the last song, but still incorporates the drum lines, and a very catchy beat. There's a battle horn sounding instrument that tells us there's something wrong. And when the extremely deep vocals ring in, you really get sucked into the heat of the song. However, this is also where I almost found myself chuckling.

And, the only reason for my smug grin was because I found it hard to take the voice in an austere manner. Sure, it does sound nice, and works well with the music, but it also just sounds too deep. I'm not entirely too sure whether or not I'm listening to a man, or listening to a grizzly bear. I don't mean to poke too much fun at the guy, because the music sounds tremendous, I just find it hard not to laugh.

But, nonetheless, aside from my child like tendencies to laugh at something that others may not even crack a smile at, I found myself loving the Gregorian chanting that I found in Ex Borea. It definitely just made it suit well with the rest of the album. And, I suppose that's something else I found myself adoring about this album. Nothing ever stops moving. It just keeps adding more and more onto what's already established.

Das Gold Der Partei is worth pointing out, for rather than persisting with the non stop medieval war tunes, it takes a break and gets a bard's tale like vibe. It slows down, mellows out, and gets rid of that battle horn type of sound, and just lets you engage in a time that's already been past. However, after this, it gets straight back into the standard affair that I've been dealing with for the first half of the album.

Disappointingly, as much as Parzival moves forward, they also stay steadfast with their heeled dug into the ground, unwilling to move. That's where my problem lies. I don't have much more to say about the rest of the songs. They all continue on in the same fashion, and to explain them any further would just make me sound like a redundant prick who just needs to keep on talking to make his point. You can listen to the first five songs, and then be done with the album. Not because it isn't good, but just because you'll know what the rest of the album is going to sound like.

This is one of those albums that began off promising for me, as it smacked me across the face with something completely different. And I found myself in awe at the project at first, but, after listening to it a bit, I found myself saying, "Is there anymore that they are going to do?" As epic sounding as the album is, it only can keep your attention for so long before you're skipping through tracks and telling yourself that this is all too similar to keep listening. Aug 16 2013