Track By Tracks: Protokult - Transcending The Ruins (2020)

1. Mark Of Thunder:

The historic hardships and perseverance of the Slavs, particularly, Poles. In Pagan times, Perun was worshipped as the Thunder God of war, thus depicting their fighting, persistent spirit.

2. Feed Your Demons:

Managing addiction and dealing with regret, maintenance, and coping. Hopefully learning from past mistakes and regrets.

3. 1516 (Keeper of the Hops):

The year the Bavarian purity law came into effect. German beer to this day holds the highest standard keeping the three natural ingredients to a minimum: hops, barley, and water. Coincidentally, some of us are big German power metal fans so the song is also dedicated to the genius of Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray, Helloween), thus featuring the blazing falsetto of AMMO singer Jesse Harvey.

4. Oy Kanada:

Written and released on Canada’s 150th anniversary, this song commemorates the majestic, vast Canadian landscape and plugs our superior beers. The original single was released in 2016 but with the addition of Kaveh and Jack (2017), we rerecorded to showcase the new lineup talent and sound.

5.Troubled Lad (Slainte Mhaith):

A brief account of our former Irish-Canadian keyboardist who had to leave the band in order to pursue his Gaelic studies at Harvard. He was and is dearly missed and this song deals with integrating into modern multicultural society, particularly those who have multiple backgrounds/ethnicities.

6. Na Gryanoi Nedele:

A traditional Russian folk melody meant as a prelude to Rusalka, mentioning the seduction and allure of the water nymph(s)

7. Rusalka:

In old Slavic folklore, the Rusalka was the spirit-form of a dead/drowned girl; she would seduce traveling men with her beauty and drown them; similar to the Greek sirens (though more ghastly and morbid in some accounts)

8. Valley Of Thorns:

From a sadistic/sadist’s point of view, about a man who continually places faith and devotion in women, only to have his heart, dreams, and aspirations crushed each time. He learns to cope and even enjoys the pain but eventually transcends the certain type of women he has been drawn to his entire life. Though a painful past may contribute to your Being, the song is about fighting that past and moving forward.

9. Wenches:

Over the years, the band has had several gorgeous ladies accompany the onstage antics; often dancing and pouring mead or beer from a ritual horn into a willing audience. The more PC crowd may call them “beer maidens” but wenches have been a crucial component in pub life and society. From an inebriated “pirates” point of view, this is a hymn and tribute to all the lovely wenches across the world and those we have worked with.

10.Greet the Dawn:

The power of friendship, after a night of excess, two star-crossed friends converse, share their dreams and beliefs until the morning light.

11. Dead New World:

Witnessing a crumbling society on the brink of dystopian collapse, a narrator disconnects from the lifestyle he has been living and seeks higher purpose and meaning. Indifferent to so-called “progress”, he is leaving modernity behind with his new personal morale compass, he enters a state of euphoria, taking solace in Tradition and the ways of old, in essence, attaining Transcendence.