Northern Oak "Of Roots and Flesh"

Country: UK
Sub Genre: Progressive Folk Metal, Black Metal
Format: CD, digital
Release date: October 4, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. The Dark of Midsummer 08:48
2. Marston Moor 04:22
3. Gaia 05:11
4. Nerthus 05:12
5. Isle of Mists 03:54
6. Taken 07:00
7. Requiescant In Pace 00:25
8. The Gallows Tree 04:35
9. Bloom 05:03
10. Of Roots and Flesh 04:56
11. Only Our Names Will Remain 06:49
12. Outro 01:35

Line-up: 
Chris - Guitars
Digby - Keyboards, Violin
Catie - Flutes, Recorders
Rich - Bass
Wib - Drums
Martin - Vocals
   With

Adam Page, Tommy Rushton, Jim Waterman - Additional vocals on "Requiescant in Pace"

Description/Reviews: 

Everything that makes Northern Oak’s combination of influences and talents shine can be heard during the title track – one of the more accessible numbers.  A brief lead guitar motif leading into a tough but simple riff hints at some old style metal influences, but quickly things settle into something far more distinctive.  Folky flutes in the right speaker appear surprisingly high in the mix (especially given the volume of everything else), while gang vocals have an almost medieval or perhaps Gregorian air.  This basis brings an unshakable sound, over which frontman Martin Collins switches between black metal rasps and atmospheric spoken word passages.  The result is aggressive but comes with positive vibes too – the song’s final lyric offers a sage message of advice: ‘Drop your hatred, see how bright life blazes’.  

 Read the full review at realgonerocks.com

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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