Yagon – A Raven’s Tale

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YAGON is an Israeli Atmospheric Black Metal band. YAGON in Hebrew means “deep sorrow.” Its main theme is telling the stories of different characters in both real and fantasy worlds…being a witness to coping with grief and sadness.” The album has five songs, and the title track is first. The opening tones are both charming from the beautiful piano work, and ominous from the background tones that hang thick in the air. The vocals are clean at first. It’s as if the song is calling out to you. Harsh vocals enter, and bring distorted guitars with them. But the pretty melody remains, though it is washed in tones of grey and black at times. The clean vocals are just a bit pitchy but they do bring a depressive quality to them.

“Kindred Souls” has harsh vocals out of the gate but those delicate melodies remind you of a sing that would be playing if you found your kindred soul…beautiful, but sad as well. Maybe after all these years, you found her, but she has already passed. The operatic vocals in the background push this feeling deeper. The harsh vocals rise towards the end, in a crescendo of tragedy. “Cassiel – A Fallen Angel” has a deeper sound from cavernous gutturals in the beginning, and a simple but ominous guitar riff. Melodic bells dance among the tense tones. The screams that follow are torturous. The clean vocals are just as effective, and the ending piano notes tell the sadness of a fallen angel.

“Shadow and Light – Ronen” begins with slow and somber tones, and again some great piano notes. The spoken words combine with some backing elements that are sad and dejected. Harsh vocals carry the same sentiment, and there is more shadow than light. Lead guitar notes also join in, until the weight of the world is squarely on your shoulders, and you have no choice but to concede. The two-minute “This Mortal Grasp” closes the album, with more piano notes of hopeless times, and dashed dreams. Spoken words speak of regrets, and mistakes. The rain falling at the end is poetry. Overall, this was a very well done EP. The Black Metal elements were strong, but the more melancholic elements outweighed them, and I am a sucker for these types of tones.

Songwriting: 8
Musicianship: 7
Memorability: 8
Production: 8