Track By Track: Theudho - De roep van het woud (2018)
1. Waar kraaien de
ondergang bezingen:
“Where crows
praise the downfall” – The title and theme of this song were
inspired by a surreal spectacle I witnessed when I was out hiking in
the winter. The sun was completely blotted out by heavy clouds; mist
lingered over the frozen acres. Dozens of crows kept hovering in
front of me, probably disturbed by my presence as they intended to
scavenge on something. The lyrical connection is obvious: such birds
(crows, ravens, …) were often connected to the god of war and death
because they also scavenged on battle fields when silence finally had
replaced cries of war.
The track introduces
this atmosphere with early clean guitars but quickly takes a few
dynamic twists and turns …
2. De roep van het
woud:
“The call of the
woods” – This track is built around verses that are driven by
drums, clean guitars and bass, with distorted guitars kicking in
during the choruses. This contrast is mirrored by the lyrics that
deal with how Christians characterise(d) nature as “evil” and
“ungodly” while their own small societies centred around the
church reflect the “order” of God. The reality is, of course,
that such small villages were open prisons, where everybody guarded
everybody, with the aristocracy and the clergy laying down the law.
They loathed the “pagan”, the “heathen” who lived outside of
their societies, beyond the grasp (and control) of God.
3. De alvenberg:
“The mountain of
elves” – In our local folk beliefs, it is said that “Alvermannen”
(elves, Álfar) lived inside hills. At night, they would help the
local population by harvesting, tending to animals, and so forth.
Offerings of food were donated to these spirits of the land. This is
one of the longest tracks on the album; slowly building and exploring
quite a few different moods, including a middle section with acoustic
guitars.
4. De eik van
Hakiloheim:
“The oak of
Hakiloheim” – In the area where I grew up, once stood a mighty
oak next to a natural spring. It was the centre of a
Frankish/Germanic heathen cult, deep in a vast forest. Oak trees
were often associated with the god Donar/Þórr. A Dutch missionary,
Ursmar, who came to propagate the Christian faith in the late 7th/8th
century in this area, could of course not accept such “devil
worship” and cut it down ... This is one of the more “black
metal” tracks on the album, with plenty of two beat and double bass
drumming.
5. Op de heilige
ring gezworen:
“Sworn on the
sacred ring” – One of the few tracks that are done in a really
low guitar tuning; B standard. Even on previous Theudho albums, the
slower song were recorded using a lower guitar tuning, but this time
everything got pushed a bit further. This track probably stands out
the most because it’s the only track with clean vocals in the
chorus. Lyrically, this one deals with oaths in Germanic culture and
the connection to the rather obscure god Wuþuz, who is perhaps best
known as his later Scandinavian incarnation Ullr.
6. Saksenslacht:
“Saxon slaughter”
– This seems to be one of the favourite tracks for a lot of people,
the uptempo drum beat drags you right along. After the final chorus,
the song ventures into a different mood, with almost a crescendo type
of feel. The lyrics deal with the war Charlemagne waged against the
heathen Saxons in the 8th
century.
7. Slangentongen:
“Snake tongues”
– One of the more vicious tracks on the album. The whole
composition is based on a scale with an eastern type of feel. The
lyrics to this song, although fairly graphic, are based on “the end
justifies the means” tactics and morals of proselytic Christian
missionaries, monks and priests that came to preach “the word of
God” in the Germanic realm.
8. Wolfstijd:
“Age of the wolf”
– An age where mankind falls prey to degeneracy is a recurrent
theme in various mythologies. Germanic, Vedic, … religions are
often seen as cyclic, implying that such a phase is necessary to give
birth to a renewed cycle in which everything is restored.
This one was
originally written around the heavy tom section of the intro of which
hints reappear throughout the verses. It is another track where the
bass guitar is actually used as a lead instrument in a middle section
instead of a guitar solo.
9. Het moeraslicht
(bonus track on CD and digital version):
“The swamp light”
– This is definitely the odd track, with only bleak keyboards and
without vocals. This track was written and recorded when the album
was actually already finished. I wrote it in a very dark mood; on the
day I heard that an acquaintance lost both of her children in a
gruesome family tragedy. It’s a very bleak track, with repetitive
keyboard lines stacking up, very reminiscent of 90’s dungeon synth.
10. In de schaduw van de zwarte banier
(bonus track on CD version):
“In the shadow of
the black banner” – One of the more aggressive tracks, also based
on an eastern sounding scale. It eventually shifts into an elaborate
somewhat droning section after the guitar solo before returning to
double bass madness. The lyrics are inspired by the Nietzschean
“slave morality”.
11. Het gedrocht in
de diepte (bonus track on digital
version):
“The monstrosity
in the depths” – This one is actually thematically connected to
the track “The Frozen Seas of Atland” from the debut album. It
deals with a very common theme in European folk beliefs; namely the
fear of what lurks in the depths beneath the waves. The song
revolves around percussive rhythm guitars in drop-B that lock in with
a kick drum pattern in the verses and again open up in the choruses.
12. De rivier der
zwaarden (bonus track on tape version):
“The river of
swords” – The title is a kenning
for the battlefield; this form of metaphoric descriptions is used
throughout the lyrics. Very ferocious with blast beats in the start.
The song was originally built around the rather shifting and dragging
chord progression in the verses and the subsequent contrasting
melodic chorus.
13. De Frankische
strijdhamer (bonus track on tape
version):
“The
Frankish warhammer” – The tempos and guitar tuning in B on this
one give it more of a 90’s death metal feel. Very straightforward,
also in the lyrical department.
14. De grafheuvel
(bonus track on vinyl version):
“The gravemound”
– Together with “Het moeraslicht” the only instrumental track.
A short acoustic interlude that nevertheless fitted in nicely with
the other songs.
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