{"id":40536,"date":"2014-05-20T06:34:17","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T11:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=40536"},"modified":"2014-05-20T06:34:17","modified_gmt":"2014-05-20T11:34:17","slug":"adavant-a-light-cut-through-the-void-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/adavant-a-light-cut-through-the-void-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Adavant | A Light Cut Through the Void<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist\/News Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"AdavantWhen you think of hotspots for pagan and folk metal bands, Arizona probably doesn\u2019t spring to mind. It\u2019s not exactly prime territory for landing Viking long-ships after all. Hell, America in general doesn\u2019t have the same kind of ancestral claim to this kind of music that the Europeans do. Still, bands like Lunarium and Hammer Horde have proven that American bands can hold their own, and so has Arizona\u2019s own Adavant, whose second album A Light Cut Through the Void<\/em> was released at the very end of last year.<\/p>\n

The band photo suggests that Turisas is a major influence on Adavant, and that\u2019s confirmed by the music. Adavant\u2019s brand of folk metal is very melodic, very heavy, and pairs growled male vocals with operatic female vocals. Instead of extolling the virtues of Odin or recounting glorious Viking battles, Adavant sticks to themes that are a bit more universal, like drinking, and more drinking (so they have that much in common with Alestorm). Traditional folk instruments are in short supply here, but the melodies are definitely folk-inspired.<\/p>\n

As American bands playing European-style folk metal go, Adavant is actually pretty good. They have two better than average vocalists, the musicianship is solid, and the songs \u2013 while not terribly original \u2013 are a lot of fun. It\u2019s hard not to hear songs like \u201cThe Refill,\u201d \u201cThe Black Barrel Ale\u201d and \u201cThe Drunken Monks of Halamathunk\u201d and not get into the spirit. Even the more serious songs like \u201cThe Beast of Oakenstone\u201d and the 13-minute \u201cOn Crimson Wings\u201d are memorable. <\/p>\n

They may not be operating in the same league as Turisas or Korpiklaani, but you have to give Adavant credit for pulling off this kind of metal so successfully. A Light Cut Through the Void<\/em> is a completely enjoyable album, and proof that an American band can play this kind of folk music. If you\u2019re looking for a new batch of drinking songs, raise a few pints with Adavant!<\/p>\n

Genre: Folk Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nAndy the Cunning (k)
\nJustin the Fierce (g)
\nCharlotte the Alluring (v)
\nNathan the Ravenous (v)
\nJake the Thunderous (d)
\nCorey the Vigorous (b)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tPrologue \u2013 A Light Cut Through the Void
\n2.\tThe Battle of Maelstrom Valley
\n3.\tThe Drunken Monks of Halamathunk
\n4.\tThe Beast of Oakenstone
\n5.\tA Captain\u2019s Eulogy
\n6.\tThe Refill
\n7.\tThe Black Barrel Ale
\n8.\tThe Ballad of Abigail McCree
\n9.\tOn Crimson Wings
\n10.\tEpilogue \u2013 Back Into the World
\n11.\tPints For the Fallen<\/p>\n

Label: Self-released<\/p>\n

Website: www.facebook.com\/adavantofficial<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist\/News Editor — When you think of hotspots for pagan and folk metal bands, Arizona probably doesn\u2019t spring to mind. It\u2019s not exactly prime territory for landing Viking long-ships after […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":40537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[9326,9325,2317,2942],"class_list":{"0":"post-40536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-a-light-cut-through-the-void","9":"tag-adavant","10":"tag-cd-review","11":"tag-folk-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}