(written by Islander)
On September 4th of this year the Apocalyptic Witchcraft label released Primordial Bloodlines, the debut album from UK-based Wyrdstæf, a band whose music is described as “atmospheric blackened tribal metal band”, and what we have for you today is the premiere of an evocative lyric video for the album’s title song.
The inspiration for both the band and their first full-length is worth describing at length, because it provides important insights into what you’re about to see and hear. To do that, we’ll excerpt the following eloquent passages from the materials circulated by Apocalyptic Witchcraft:
In a time before history, in an age before memory, they walked the vastness of the earth, an earth untainted by the plague bearing, rapacious hand of ill-named civilisation. An earth where the clinical, dissecting sterility of science had yet to drain the essence of nature, the power of magick from the world. A time before light was an instantly available commodity, disrupting the rhythms of existence, a time when shadows were deeper and concealed dreams, nightmares, friends and enemies. A time when there was no certainty of the dawn arriving after the long hours of night, but when every moment thrummed with the vibrant, vital wonder of existing. They walked in the shadow of giants, the true kings of all existence who knew no fear from man’s busy, wicked minds. They lived on the brink of death, more alive than we can ever be, when humanity was part of life’s miraculous, intricate weave, not a devil apart, setting fire to Eden…
The UK’s Wyrdstæf invoke the spirit of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ages, where our distant ancestors roamed a world of ice and natural wonder, hunter-gatherers amongst the incredible megafauna. An existence of brutal harshness in an untarnished but unforgiving world….
Musically, Primordial Bloodlines (the album) is a dramatically changing experience, one devoted to transporting listeners into a time we can only imagine (though perhaps we still unconsciously carry primal memories of it within us), one in which life was harsh, violent, haunted, and wild. The album’s journey leads up to the closing title song, which is described as “a song of reflection, beauty and melancholy”, “a hymn for precious things lost and the pathways that lead back through the mists of countless centuries”. In the words of the band:
“Primordial Bloodlines” follows a Palaeolithic shaman undertaking a spirit quest, confronting future visions of humanity’s struggle for survival. At its heart, the song is about the enduring human spirit; that inner fire which has carried us through ice ages, famines, climatic catastrophe and extinctions, yet continues to burn within us today.
The song, like the album as a whole, is a changing experience, yet a thoroughly spellbinding one. It begins with a ringing guitar melody that’s simultaneously wondrous and haunting, mystical and searching. Backed by shimmering frequencies, a deeply humming bass, and restrained, rocking beats, it takes root in a listener’s head very quickly as the video passes ancient cave imagery before our eyes.
As beguiling as that melody is, so are the clean-sung vocals, which enhance the melody’s gentle and mesmerizing effects. But gradually, changes do come. The reverberating notes begin to channel darker and more haunting moods; hissing whispers seem to shadow the singer; and grim snarls eventually take the lead.
The power of the music swells, as waves of ragged moaning chords wash over listeners and rise in anguish. Harsh and clean voices join together to express the words with passion, and ethereal notes ring through those sweeping tides. The band return to their opening melody, but also return to more dire and daunting sensations.
And when the lyrics speak of a glimmer of light that will remain when our sun grows cold, a vibrantly trilling guitar and soaring keys manifest that light (which is within us), expressing a final surge of intensity before the wistful acoustic picking that draws the song to a close.
WYRDSTÆF Line-Up:
Urzhan – Vocals
Shaman – Guitars
Baksu – Bass
Malang – Drums
Revenant – Guitars, Electronic
Primordial Bloodlines is out now through Apocalyptic Witchcraft on digipack CD, cassette tape, and digital formats, with a limited-edition splatter vinyl to follow on September 25th. For more info and to acquire the album, check the links below. Below the links we’re also including a stream of the album in its entirety.
ORDER/STREAM:
https://orcd.co/apw057
FOLLOW WYRDSTÆF:
https://linktr.ee/Wyrdstaef
https://wyrdstaef.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Wyrdstaef
https://www.instagram.com/wyrdstaef/