Pagan Harvest "Pagan Harvest"

Country: UK
Genre(s): Prog Folk
Label: Musea Parallele
Format: CD, digital
Release date: December 30, 2015
Tracklist: 
1. The Hawthorn (7:54)
2. Fight The Devil (3:59)
3. Damascus (5:58)
4. Queen Of The River (6:44)
5. Harrow Road (5:39)
6. Rebecca Falls (12:33)

Total time 42:47

Line-up: 
Jon Bickley: vocals
Steve Daymond: bass, backing vocals
Lawrence Reed: guitars, backing vocals, all orchestral arrangements
   With
Debbie Hill: backing vocals

Description/Reviews: 

Pagan Harvest's first album is a unique sweep through Europe's ancient soul calling on elements of the Progressive rock, folk and classical music. It's as if the spirits of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd turning up in "Wuthering Heights" or William Shakespeare. Magic, murder and the spirit of a fox sung by a poet from the top of a mountain !

The 6 songs could be split into 'ancient' and 'modern'. The former explore things we don't really understand, but perhaps we once did. ‘The Hawthorn' is a dream about strong and worthy characters from English history and a yearning for King Arthur's return. The spirit of Syd Barrett is evoked in 'Queen of the River' which paints daybreak as a mythical goddess bringing light and warmth to the countryside. The longest song on the album is 'Rebecca Falls' where a missing girl, a detective and a shadowy figure are irresistibly drawn into a ghostly ritual. The tension builds, you think you see something out of the corner of your eye, but you're not quite sure. It’s an eerie tale of something beyond your comprehension. Strings (or could that be a mellotron?), crisp classical guitar and insistent bass set up Bickley's vocal beautifully.    

The 3 'modern' songs are reflections from more recent times. 'Fight the Devil' is telling us it's tough out there, the character in 'Damascus' finds no spiritual enlightenment on that famous road, simply the realisation that in 21st Century Syria nothing ever changes. 'Harrow Road' is a light hearted song that interweaves some of Shakespeare's romantic mythical characters into colourful modern day North West London.

Media/Samples 
Rebecca Falls
Damascus
Fight The Devil

Links:
Web page
Facebook