IGNEA/Ersedu – EP BESTIA REVIEW

November 2021 – Dublin

I am going to write this time about a band I have been almost following at their beginning of their musical journey; IGNEA! You might think it will be a quite positive review as I have been their around for such a long time, but being there has given me the opportunity to see with my own eyes how they have grown over time.

In order to truly understand how the band has grown over time and what has driven them to release a split EP we have spoken with Helle first. On the base of this interview I will discuss the concept of the split EP, the music itself, the lyrics, artwork, the videos that represent the music. In the end I will give a summarise.

CONCEPT

I was quite intrigued when I heard about the split EP. That is to say, I have never heard about bands creating a whole album together. Also, their choice of collaboration was very interesting and mysterious. Ersedu isn’t a very popular band, however if you look at the artwork and listen to first album ”NC17″ you instantly start brainstorming how the two bands can complement each other. The first impression I got from Ersedu is that they as well mix brutality with fairy tale parts. Furthermore, this band experiments also, however the music style reminds me more of After Forever whereas IGNEA reminds me Orphaned Land at least in their early days.

When we spoke about this collaboration with Helle she told us this was unitentional. They have know each other for years and basically by discussing their common passion; music this EP was born. The start of this collaboration was when Helle heard an instrumental part of Ersedu and got suddenly inspiration for lyrics. The song was later named ”Mermaids”. I really like this approach as it comes from the heart and I am firm believer of co-creation. That is to say, both bands have a different way of creating music. As a result, each of them adds an interesting flavour to the music.

“ERSEDU AND IGNEA BOTH HAVE SOMETHING UNIQUE TO OFFER”

MUSIC

Bestia was quite a surprise musicwise. I am well aware IGNEA doesn’t categorise themselves in specific metal genre and they just like to blend various music styles an just experiment. However, in my own mind I always put them into folk metal because their middle eastern influences that were especially present in “Sign of Faith”.

Anyways, for me the album has diminished their symphonic & middle eastern touch and has become much more raw and brutal. As a result, I would categorise this album as melodic death metal. Thinking about the genre is an indication IGNEA has again created something fresh and unique.

Apart from the music style, this has album has a lot of instrumental parts. The last song is only instrumental and lasts fifteen minutes. I think this adds to the surprise element but it also strenghtens the core element of their music; experimentation and excellent composers!

Furthermore, the music style of this album is a huge milestone for Helle. For the more experienced listeners and who have been around for longer you will defintely hear that Helle voice has evolved. Don’t get me wrong her voice in the previous albums is astonishing but in this one she nailed it! The transition between growls and clean signing are much smoother and her growls are very sustainable for a long period of a time. As a result, the fairy tale side and the brutality are much more fleshed out than the two previous albums.

You are probably wondering nowv what I think about the songs in general. Well, it is very though for me to judge. Like I said before they both have a different music approach. Thus, each song is great to listen on its own. The best song are “Mermaids” and “The Symphony of Bestia”, because these are the songs both bands have put their ingredients in the blender.

“IGNEA IS NOT AFRAID TO CREATE ART AND EXPERIMENT“

LYRICWISE

Whereas “Realms of Fire and Death” was a concept album this one has standalone songs . Another difference between the two albums is the fact that ”Bestia” leans heavily on Ukrain mythology in contrast to “Realms of Fire and Death” where everything was made up. Despite this, Helle says Bestia has a much experimental approach. According to her she still added some imagination. For example Bosorkun is regarded as an evil creature. In Helle own words how she added her imagination to the song: ‘he’s a ‘spirit with a kind but destructive nature who wants to make friends with humans and trade his immortality for their world.’

To be honest at first I was slightly dissapointed on the lyrics part. I hoped for an album where Helle develops her proza skills and makes an album that is tightly connected. Listening to the EP and thinking about our conversation, I am glad after all how things turned out. I defintely agree with Helle this is a kind of writing she has not done yet. As a consequence, she has again surprised her fans with something new. This album has made me curious to learn more about Ukrain Mythology. In short, Helle has done what art is supposed to do: not being afraid to do someting new, surprise fans along the way and discuss certain topics.

“HELLE IS NOT ONLY ONE OF THE BEST SINGERS AROUND BUT AS WELL AS LYRICST, SHE IS QUITE CAPABLE “

ARTWORK

The artwork is a great representation of the concept behind the album. The two main colours brown and blue indicate the split. IGNEA has gone for brown whereas Ersedu has chosen blue as their colour. I think it suits them both very well as they are blending in nicely. Also, IGNEA uses golden colours in their logo and their previous album was centered around fire. Aside from the conceptual fit, it is functional as well. You see immediately which song belongs to who.

Furthermore, the artwork makes it very clear what the album will be about; Ukrain mythology. You see in the front mermaids and other different creatures. The main mythlogical creature are the mermaids which are a great pick according to me. The reason for this is that Mermaids is the most impressive song and video of this album. Nonetheless, it is a song both bands worked on.

Apart from fitting very well with the concept of the album it is a nice addition to your music collection as it has a very distinctive colours that you don’t see very often in the metal scene.

MUSIC VIDEOS

The first video that was released was Bosorkun which is a lyric video. I think it is a nice one as it introduces you to the Ukrain mythological themes. You see ”Bosorkun” in this video and every animation in this video complements the lyrics. Moreover, the animation in this video is astonishing.

The next one is Mermaids which is jawdropping. The first impression I got from Ersedu was quite right. Ersedu represents brutality. The growls of Ersedu and her dark hair create this extra layer of brutality. If you look then at IGNEA Helle’s hair is much lighter and her vocals softer; representing the fairy tale part. At the time we spoke with Helle, she told us it was centered about the everyday life of Ukrain Mavkas. This song gives the viewer defintely a good look at how the live of mermaids looks like and the music & vocals create the atmosphere.

The next two videos of the album are from Ersedu which I would like to discuss as well. The first song “Black Garden” is quite brutal as the video is quite sinister. The background is dark and the characters in the video are painted gold, white and black. It is quite different than the videos of IGNEA which is great, because they both offer the viewer something unique and authentic.

”The Eaters of The Sun” is the second song of this EP. In contrast to IGNEA lyric video Bosorkun, this one one is darker and the animation is much slower. I like this approach as it illustrates the brutality of Ersedu music.

“FROM A VIDEO PERSPECTIVE ERSEDU & IGNEA HAVE BOTH A QUITE UNIQUE ANGLE TO REPRESENT THEIR MUSIC”

SUMMARY

In short, Bestia is a great album as it show how much IGNEA has evolved music and vocal wise over the years. But it also leaves you hungry as it is a small album. This is exactly what IGNEA was aiming for; making you hungry for the next release in 2022. Not only IGNEA has done an excellent job. Ersedu themselves have given an extra depth and freshness to this Split EP and their own music is defintely a must to check out.

“IGNEA’S FIRE IS NOT YET EXTINGUISHED INSTEAD IT BURNS HOTTER THAN EVER”

MAIr