I like black metal. I like folk and pagan influences on black metal. I like these influences making their presence known in softer, open interludes within the raw tumult of black metal. As such, it should be no surprise whatsoever that I find myself liking Oale Groond, the first full-length from Dutch duo Sagenland (16 years after their first split release with Vargulf!) very much indeed. As the list above implies, Sagenland’s pagan black sound shares a lot with the likes of Arckanum or early Ulver in their arrangement of folk-infused melodies and acoustic sections alongside vocal harmonies, but there’s more to it than that. The unpolished authenticity of the “metal” in Sagenland’s sonic array is something to be celebrated in an age where even the most virulent acts in the scene – 1349 exe...
