The long absence of Stoa from the musical world has been glaring since they left Hyperium Records in 1997. It also does not help that they have not released an album since 1995 with "Porta VIII" (a re-release is expected shortly).
Cut to 2002 and Olaf Parusel has re-emerged under the banner of the brilliant band which is Stoa. This is worth owning more than any number of the so-called "neo-classic" samplers which have exploited this style which creation Stoa was part of in the early nineties. Along with bands such as Ophelia's Dream, Anchorage and Love Is Colder Than Death, Stoa was part of Hyperium's elite in terms of this style. The pairing of synthetic instruments with classical arrangements is what neo-classic is all about and these bands, led by Stoa brought into the world a wonderous new style; truly a classical approach without any of the dreaded world music influences which later derailed pioneers Dead Can Dance.
The classic style of Stoa flourishes beautifully on this new album. Masterful string arrangements abound and are accompanied by some scorchingly astounding vocals by Antje Buchheiser. Add to this some sombre oboe work and crystalline cello playing and you have an album which will reduce you to a torrent of emotional jelly.
There is one thing and one thing only which angers me about this album, of the eleven tracks, only eight are new. The other three have been issued on compilations over the past eight years. It is for that reason they only get a seven.
This disc is a fine return to form for Stoa and I really hope they don't take so bloody long with the next one.

Stoa return with Silmand after seven years with international line-up. The new album of the music philosophers surprises in more than one way. Surprising is the release of Silmand itself if you consider that there was no news around Stoa for the past 7 years!
Fans will be happy that the STOA mastermind stays true to himself with his fourth album. Besides the usual melancholy, unusual pop rhythms found their way on the various albums, but the typical Stoa sound is still distinct. The vocal lines harbour some surprises as well. For once there’s the angelic voice of singer Mandy Bernhardts, known from the live performances of the band; on the other hand, the voices of three guest singers sound on Silmand. The first voice belongs to the Australian multi-instrumentalist Louisa John Krol. The Dutchman Peter Nooten (Ex-Clan of Xymox) could be engaged for Silmand as well as the Leipzig-based Ralf Jehnert (Love is Colder than Death).
With Silmand Stoa created an album for the calmer moments in life, for cuddling, to get lost in thoughts, to philosophize. The sound of Stoa deludes to seek the inner sadness and to fly away with it on angel wings. The dark side of the human soul is unveiled, without falling into clichés. The melancholy gets touched and the soul gets musically caressed.
A foretaste on the new Stoa album is provided with the songs Hanuz Nist and Broken Glass on the bands official MySpace profile
. One of the songs on Silmand was already used as film score. Silmand means soul month. With it the month September is titled in an almost forgotten German dialect. Olaf Parusel says 'Besides the strength and spirit of the summer, the September harbours a shimmer of the autumn’s melancholy. A glimpse of winters implacability all life will retreat to.'
Of course, the album is suitable for all months of the year. How about a glass of red wine while listening to it?

Urthona
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Urthona is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. Specifically, he is the Zoa of inspiration and creativity. His female counterpart is Enitharmon. Urthona usually appears in his 'fallen' form, that of Los.

德国森林金属乐团99年经典专辑

Estatic Fear是一直带有浓厚的中古世纪气息的奥地利歌特乐队，以突出的大提琴、长笛、
鲁特琴(lute，古典吉他的前身)及钢琴的柔情表现为主，特别是大提琴和长笛相当重份量的
演出，也使其地方性的民族情怀更浓，而鲁特琴 的运用对于金属乐而言也几乎是前所未见吧！
A Sombre Dance专辑的曲目除了首曲名为"Intro"外，其余则是直接命名为"Chapter I"至"
Chapter IX"，而除了曲式连贯之外，编曲上亦采取了类似古典乐多乐章式的「变奏」手法，
不但主旋律在多首曲子中反复出现，并且还有主旋律的变奏，再加上以多种乐器交替弹奏主
旋律，整张专辑一气呵成，彷若是一出音乐剧般，相当地有意思！
Chapter I 由空心吉他导入，大提琴及美声女音陆续登场，电吉他弹奏着小调般的旋律，脑海中不禁浮現出中古欧洲的小镇风光，黑死腔的出現为曲式迎來一股强烈的淒凉感，此时背后听到的是大提琴和键盘的竖琴音色，还有慢速双大鼓。
chapter IV 大提琴开始的婉转低沉的氛围下,突然加大的背景在钢琴和提琴的交替中带出女声,合着粗旷浓重的lute和base声让人不禁心头颤抖,震撼.在很多乐队中常见的黑死唱腔在这里也更加有力结实.然后长笛吹奏出梦幻般的旋律.在柔和过后开始打雷下雨,乐器的合奏终于在黑死唱腔的带动下来到高潮,一种压抑的美感席卷全身,呐喊的冲动,心中所有的郁闷,不解,疑惑都似乎要喷发而出.最后女声的连接把氛围慢慢放大再沉淀下来,一切归于平静,突然的美女野兽的合唱把曲子送入第5乐章.
这是他们99年发行的一张专集,另外一张是1997年的首张专辑somnium obmutum.somnium obmutum相比之下a sombre dance更加粗暴和文雅. 有时候极强的电影震耳欲聋,时而标准的中古世纪风格,柔和,缥缈.似乎还没有定性.从另外方便也可以反映出来从somnium obmutum到a sombre dance这张诗史般经典专辑的成长.

Haggard于1991年成立于慕尼黑。吉它手Asis是乐队的核心，1994年发表了一张MCD，并
在Amorphis的巡回演唱会作暖场表演。在这期间，Asis一直在探讨如何加入更多的古典
元素，其结果就是他不断找来越来越多的提琴手、钢琴手、女高音以及其它古典乐器演
奏者丰富Haggard的音乐风格。到了1997年发表首张概念专辑"and thou shalt trust…
the seer"的时候，乐队已经拥有了16名正式成员，真是不厌其烦啊。这张专辑以法国著
名的预言家Michael Nostradamus（诺查丹玛斯）的生平与著作为主要内容，在音乐风格
上也显得古风盎然，钢琴、提琴等古典乐器与吉它、鼓等金属乐器错落有致，其间并无
主次之分，同时大量运用了唱诗班、圣咏、歌剧女高音等人声因素，与男声低音、念白
以及黑死唱腔结合起来，构成了非常独特的魅力，引人入胜，使人时而仿佛置身于中古
世纪的繁华市集，时而又在冷峻阴森的教堂中漫步，充满了深邃神秘的氛围感。
2000年发表的"Awaking the Centuries"是上一张专辑的延伸，此时的时间是在1546年左
右，Nostradamus的第一任妻子与孩子都去世了，这也正是Nostradamus开始撰写《诸世
纪》的时候，专辑的名字即来自于此。在本张专辑中，Haggard把它善于整合不同风格的
音乐元素的特长发挥到极致，团员已达到20人，同时还邀请了3位guest乐手、5位口白及
9人的歌剧唱诗班，真可谓宏大之极。
专辑是以改编的Rachmaninov唱诗开始，于是时光倒流，我们仿佛置身于中世纪法国那泥
泞的城镇中，紧跟着的"Pestilencia"（瘟疫）则充满了歌剧的张力，尤其是女声的嘶叫
"c\'est la peste"（这是瘟疫！）更是让人透不过气来。第三首"Heavenly Damnation"
是前卫金属网站长评为的超级爱歌，我们来听听他的评价："以强劲的弦乐、大键琴对弹
开场，紧接带出男女唱诗班大合唱，soprano的一阵拉高后，death腔也随后喷出，精彩
的弦乐、oboe、单簧管对奏，伴随强力双大鼓接续登场，death腔、声乐腔大合唱，弦乐
、长笛、oboe、大键琴、双大鼓，真的是有够美啊！"
我最喜欢的则是第6首"awaking the centuries"，开场是以小提琴与双簧管等乐器的协
奏为引子，接着转向欢快的旋律，在这美妙的奏鸣中，吉它与双大鼓悄然现身，带来一
阵震撼性的气息，似乎在预示Nostradamus眼中所看到数百年后的战火。在忧愁的女声吟
唱"Awaking the centuries"过后，一段凄美的旋律引出了Asis的黑暗唱腔，在两位女高
音的伴唱之下，旋律转向激昂，似乎在倾吐Nostradamus内心的不安--恐怖的景象不断叠
现，而那参破生死的平静则更显得无奈。
本首歌曲直接引用了大段Nostradamus《诸世纪》的原文，诸如：
"When I open my eyes
I see soldiers in the fields
Dead bodies on the ground
There are children inbetween
Explosions shock the land
And the evil shows its face
The one called Hister rises
This is the fall of grace..."
令人听后，如有阵阵寒意袭背。
总的来说，本专辑唱念俱佳，不仅充满了浓厚的古欧洲气息，氛围感十足，同时旋律优
美，编配合理，除了时间太短以外（38分钟），几乎挑不出什么毛病，无疑是张"五星级
"的专辑。

Forseti 是德国的neo folk乐队。在德国的神话传说里, Forseti是维护公平与正义的神. 他从他的父亲Balder那里继承了正义与果断。为了这个原因, Asen让他成为最高的执法者。任何需要寻求解决争议, 或者希望得到明智判决的人都会来到位于一座辉煌宫殿的金色大厅里的Forseti的座下。没有人会带着不公平的决断离开Forseti的辉煌的神殿。每个人都会对得到的判决很满意, 因为这位神的裁决者会用明智的言辞彬彬有礼地解决人类的争端。所以, 有人说, 无论对人类还是对神族, 这都是最好的法庭。无论在舞台上还是录音室里, Forseti都不会使用电声设备。纯粹的原声音乐会给人温暖和情感。他们受到了德国浪漫主义和关于天然世界的诗歌--"大自然的歌词"的影响, 大自然在我的生命中扮演了重要的角色, 尤其是在现代的一切为消费者服务的宗旨和普通的社会给我们巨大的压力的时候。传统和文化的影响力越来越淡, 生命的体验和与生俱来的自由变得越来越压抑,这一点尤其体现在德国这个越来越难以探索你自己的神奇历史的国度。Forseti他们自己亦不讳言越来越对东方的魔法, 异教, 北方的传说和古代文明感兴趣. 这些影响被在写进了歌词里, 但无论如何Forseti不会对在歌曲里表达政治观点。

Empyrium，融入Doom/Dark/Black/Folk/Classic等音乐元素的，把对生命的思考及对大自然的热爱，以低调唯美的方式表现得淋漓尽致。日暮苍山，浮光掠影，斜阳如钩，穿透生命的秘密，像梵高画笔下的向日葵绚烂而热烈。在主唱Markus低沉清晰的吟唱里，充斥黑暗的感觉，却无限美好，像玩魔法的孩子，而非邪恶的巫师。力量厚重背后的挽歌，凄楚但无比动人。
Empyrium在2002年发行了他们的最后一张专辑《Weiland》之后便宣告解散，这是他们的第四张Album，其实就是3个Ep的合集。
——以上评论转自网络

Darkwave乐团 AUTUMN TEARS《Love Poems for Dying Children:ACT I REPRISE MCMXCVIII》。
浓厚的古典色彩，宗教圣歌、管弦乐章、交响史诗、 天使般的女声独唱，黑暗和绝望的孤独，这些构筑了这张专辑的全部。
1996年这张专辑一经推出，就使得AUTUMN TEARS成为Darkwave中世纪乐风中的佼佼者，随后又推出了Love Poems for Dying Children ACT II
及Love Poems for Dying Children ACT III。

一切美好欢愉都已留驻”，无数世纪以来人们蜂拥至传说中的森林，去寻找逝去的美好。上个世纪出土一张上上个世纪的羊皮书上预言道：快乐就在一朵马兰花根部。Die irrlichter是一支来自德国的中世纪民谣乐团，他们使用多种中世纪乐器，弹奏迷人的中古小调，欢歌给了时间一个错觉，女神以为每个孩子都渴望回归。昨日的云彩今日就融入了尘土，蚕儿今日吐出的丝明天就会变成她人美丽的衣裳。我愿骑着白马离去，寻找下一次欢愉或愁肠。

"Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings" is a compilation of rare value – not only because of the fact that this is one of the few conceptual compilations that are based around a central theme and where the choice of artists present was subjected to a rigid selection. No, "Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings" is a two-CD collection with a playing time of over 100 minutes that unites all the main players and the most promising newcomers of a nameless genre that is defined by (mostly) acoustic musical settings of nature's sceneries and impressions, or of personal sentiments mirrored in nature. This profound respect and a deeply romantic magical and mystical perception of nature are the common denominator of all the featured artists and the thematic foundation of their contributions. The fact that nearly all of the songs included here are either exclusive to this project or rare tracks that aren't otherwise available anymore serves to emphasize the extraordinary character of this release.

One of the highlights on "Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings" is certainly Empyrium's contribution – the ensemble's first new recording in four years and the impressive beginning of a new creative period. Also featured are the genre's founding fathers, Ulver, with a very rare recording from 1997: their track 'Synen' was only featured on a very limited underground compilation and is probably the Norwegians' most sought-after song. The contributions by bands such as October Falls, Nest, or Neun Welten – artists who have forged the genre's identity in the last ten years and have become major points of reference for lovers of dark, nature-attuned acoustic music – or by as-yet unknown quantities such as the British project Nhor or Syven from Finland are also delivering the goods and certainly bear comparison with the genre's founding fathers. The enchanting cover artwork courtesy of Fursy Teyssier (Les Discrets) tops off a release that, because of its musical content, is certainly going to remain a unique and unrivalled audio document for a long time.

Neun Welten是德国Neofolk的一支新乐队，与最近致力于促Neofolk音乐和艺术的Auerbach Tontrger签约，Neun Welten首次发行了一张名为“Valg”的MCD，有三首歌曲，可以给予听者将这张专辑作为介绍他们的一个机会。
Neun Welten的首张唱片，音乐是如此的迷人和充满才能，我们可能获得更多的想象空间。Neun Welten由两位非常有才能的女歌手和三位将长笛、小提琴、大提琴、单簧管、鼓一起演奏的乐手组成，关于乐队成员的资料是有限，但通过这三首作品我们可能感受到他们初期的音乐训练与丰富的音乐阅历。
Neun Welten的音乐是从自然、北欧与德意志神话中获取灵感的，Neun Welten将自然界神秘力量与在一个时期内人们更接近于这种自然界神秘力量而产生的神话相结合。由于太多的音乐家的出现，进入日耳曼舞台而影响Neofolk音乐是很困难的，但Neun Welten肯定能在未来投入更多精力而最终成为领头军乐队的一员。

关于这个乐队无需介绍,喜欢新民谣的人估计没有不知道这支乐队的.他们应约之中那种沉静和忧郁的气息,即使不懂歌词的意思,也很容易被感染.

在德国的神话传说里，Forseti是维护公平与正义的神。他从他的父亲Balder那里继承了正义与果断。为了这个原因,，Asen让他成为最高的执法者。任何需要寻求解决争议，希望得到明智判决的人都会来到位于一座辉煌宫殿的金色大厅里的Forseti的座下。没有人会带着不公平的决断离开 Forseti的辉煌的神殿。每个人都会对得到的判决很满意，因为这位神的裁决者会用明智的言辞彬彬有礼地解决人类的争端。所以，有人说，无论对人类还是对神族，这都是最好的法庭。

无论在舞台上还是录音室里，Forseti都不会使用电声设备。纯粹的原声音乐会给人温暖和情感。他们受到了德国浪漫主义和关于天然世界的诗歌---“大自然的歌词”的影响，大自然在我的生命中扮演了重要的角色，尤其是在现代的一切为消费者服务的宗旨和普通的社会给我们巨大的压力的时候。传统和文化的影响力越来越淡，生命的体验和与生俱来的自由变得越来越压抑，这一点尤其体现在德国这个越来越难以探索你自己的神奇历史的国度。
Forseti他们自己亦不讳言越来越对东方的魔法，异教，北方的传说和古代文明感兴趣。这些影响被在写进了歌词里，但无论如何Forseti不会对在歌曲里表达政治观点.

Sopor aeternus灵魂人物Anna Varney与女歌手Constance组成的新古典民谣组合，抛弃了特有的唱腔，同样是阴暗民谣，不过却不再是那种逼人的黑暗，继承了以往Sopor aeternus中优美的曲风、幽雅的弦乐铺陈、活泼的琴键和长笛点缀，甚至偶尔在时间纵深处鸣想的丧锺都回光返照般地拖着一丝悠长的喜悦……。总之感觉他们刻意地将歌曲比以前明朗化了，带给我们的不完全再是以往记忆深刻的哭腔。NENIA C'ALLADHAN中的作品带给大家的一种无以复加的柔美、安逸。古老浪漫的德国传说，男女声的对唱显然是本专辑的最大特点。熟悉了雌雄莫辨的妖灵歌喉的乐迷们这次可以充分感到他／她深藏许久的柔情了。

Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings" is a compilation of rare value
- not only because of the fact that this is one of the few
conceptual compilations that are based around a central theme
and where the choice of artists present was subjected to a rigid
selection. No, "Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings" is a two-CD
collection with a playing time of over 100 minutes that unites
all the main players and the most promising newcomers of a
nameless genre that is defined by (mostly) acoustic musical
settings of nature's sceneries and impressions, or of personal
sentiments mirrored in nature. This profound respect and a
deeply romantic magical and mystical perception of nature are
the common denominator of all the featured artists and the
thematic foundation of their contributions. The fact that nearly
all of the songs included here are either exclusive to this
project or rare tracks that aren't otherwise available anymore
serves to emphasize the extraordinary character of this release.
One of the highlights on "Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings" is
certainly Empyrium's contribution û the ensemble's first new
recording in four years and the impressive beginning of a new
creative period. Also featured are the genre's founding fathers,
Ulver, with a very rare recording from 1997: their track 'Synen'
was only featured on a very limited underground compilation and
is probably the Norwegians' most sought-after song. The
contributions by bands such as October Falls, Nest, or Neun
Welten - artists who have forged the genre's identity in the
last ten years and have become major points of reference for
lovers of dark, nature-attuned acoustic music - or by as-yet
unknown quantities such as the British project Nhor or Syven
from Finland are also delivering the goods and certainly bear
comparison with the genre's founding fathers. The enchanting
cover artwork courtesy of Fursy Teyssier (Les Discrets) tops off
a release that, because of its musical content, is certainly
going to remain a unique and unrivalled audio document for a
long time.