It’s always good to hear some home grown folk metal that is on a par with its European counterparts. Bands like Northern Oak have done much over the past couple of years to keep the Folk Metal flag flying in the UK and ‘Monuments’ is no exception. The band effortlessly incorporate flutes and recorders alongside their black metal and doom influences sound when other bands of their ilk my leave them on as last minute embellishments. The progressive style of writing also adds and extra dimension to the band’s sound that really shows that they are accomplished musicians rather than a group of eccentrics.
The album’s opener ‘Sun God’s Wrath’ gets things off to a hair-swinging style with it’s early Hecate Enthroned style black metal attack punctuated by a rather playful flute accompaniment. ‘Gawain’ is a suitably beautiful and slightly melancholic piece that makes good use of the strong lead in by the flute and keyboards. ‘Into The Forest’ is a quiet and relaxing track that goes down a purer neofolk road and adds an interesting new dynamic to the atmosphere of the album. ‘Silvan Lullaby’ continues this trend but adds a slightly heavier element again, though the mix feels rather muted. ‘Arbor Low’ has a stronger medieval strain to it that holds the track together which could do with a bit more time behind the mixing desk.
‘Nivis Canto’ gets very interesting with its subtle and ambient arrangement that is hauntingly beautiful compared to the sinister vocals. ‘Rerridmen’s Round’ on the other hand gets a little more cinematic in its scope as it opts for big sounding keyboards and impressive production. ‘The Scarlet Woman’ goes on a rather more proggy tangent with its dominant bass-line and organ that again falls foul of a pour mixing job. ‘Death In The Marshes’ is another subtle and very interesting sounding track that is both relaxing and sinister in equal measures, even when the heavier guitars come in. ‘Pavane In G Minor’ is a lovely instrumental that mixes the old and new sounds with great effect. The final song on the album ‘In These Hills’ is a fantastic track that incorporates lots of little flourishes into it that really shows off the musicianship of the band to its full potential.
The on prevailing problem with this album, that stops it from being truly great, is the production. The mixes throughout sound like they were done hastily and far too many of the song sound like you’re trying to listen to them through a sponge. However the songs themselves and the band’s execution of them is faultless.
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