Nezhegol – “From the Heart to the Sun” (2005)

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The multifaceted project “Nezhegol” has no repetitions in its albums, and the first “album” recording, although it sounds like a demo by today’s standards, became a landmark in the development of the project, pushing for new experiments and, most importantly, for participation in M8L8TH as a full member of the team .

Instead of a review of the first full-fledged work of the project, we bring to your attention a review of Nezhegol from Svetoizvlecheniya:

Slavic pagan metal, colorful, capacious and, in general, beautiful at first, quickly degenerated and discredited itself as a genre. A lot of mediocre, and often frankly mediocre bands “left” on the pagan metal brand, distorting the very idea of the genre beyond recognition and eventually ruining the once good name of the phenomenon with their own insignificance. As a result, many bands that were determined to carry true pagan values and did not want to be associated with the new “meaning” of pagan metal changed their genre definition to heathen metal.

From the very beginning, the Nezhegol group headed for the creation of exactly heathen metal. Having practiced on two nondescript demos, the band developed its own unique sound, both rich and ascetic, undoubtedly pagan and at the same time as far as possible from “pagan metal”, seasoned and therefore highly atmospheric. Probably, last but not least, the finest harmony was achieved due to the specifics of the composition: Nezhegol was originally a group of one person, and all facets of music were created and brought together by him, the author of the project, Alexander.

The first released albums “From the Heart to the Sun” (2005) and “March of Thunder to the Autumn Nights Parade” (2006) were extremely successful. Integrity was possessed not only by each individual track, but also by the compositions compiled by them, which, despite minor technical flaws, produced the most positive impressions. The first albums can hardly be called mature, fully formed works, but it is precisely with their youth, sometimes naive, sometimes open to a fairy tale, that they are in many ways beautiful. The main thing in these albums is that they laid the foundations for the indescribable atmosphere of Nezhegoli’s sound.

In the matter of immersing the listener into the space of sounding music, Nezhegol can give odds to many ambient projects. Regardless of the time of year and day, the weather outside, one’s own location in reality and other circumstances that lose their meaning, the listener who closes his eyes and opens his perception gets the opportunity to move into the mysterious, incredible and at the same time super-real pagan world created by the music of Nezhegol. And no matter what happens in this world, no matter where the music throws it: into the damp darkness of an autumn night or the impenetrable fog of a waking forest, into the birch edge of the Russian plain or into the harsh icy desert of the sacred North, into the heat of battle with steel in hand dissecting the enemy horde or into the depths of the flaming heart of the Seeking Thule – the listener who opens up to music receives an incomparable feeling of belonging – not only to fabulously beautiful, mystical spaces, but also to the Great transcendent Idea itself.

Alexander’s pagan poetry stands out sharply against the background of typical pagan metal lyrics with the beauty of the created images and the depth of meaning. It does not contain the notorious “dolboslaviya” and popular prints, there are no kitsch “oh-lyuli” and “native faith” naive. Nezhegoli’s lyrics are restrained and literate, and it breathes from her with a truly barbaric spirit of primordial Rus’ – a country of harsh climate and harsh morals – and this trend comes from the North. Tellingly, from album to album, the tradition of the North begins to gain more and more importance, until eventually poetry was transformed into skaldic, and Scandinavian paganism, Eddic stories, and with them the theme of the struggle of the race for survival, did not come out ahead of all other motives.

The ideological, and at the same time, the ideological positions of Nezhegoli began to become tougher from the album “Rage is Accumulating” (2007). This landmark, the most anti-Christian album in the group’s discography, became a turning point: after it, the motives for fighting the demiurge began to be voiced less often (as a matter of course), and much more attention began to be paid to the internal search for what was lost with the advent of his cult. The spirit of a fairy tale, inherent in early works, was irrevocably replaced by a mature, deeper understanding of the essence of paganism, tradition and archetypes.

The fourth album “Origins” (2009) became the triumph of aspirations to the North. With him, the group reached a qualitatively new level: it is objectively more perfect than the early recordings in everything from general maturity, depth of lyrics and incredible integrity of the atmosphere to purely technical perfection of music. The Nordic cold not only of the sound, but of the very spirit of the album, serves as an excellent motivation for a competent and consistent perception of the message. With the release of the album “Sources”, which for a long time became the intermediate pinnacle of Nezhegoli’s work, the group solemnly entered the first line of the Russian pagan front – alas, without gaining the full deserved recognition.

After a long pause, prolonged due to the fault of the publisher, the split of Nezhegoli and M8L8TX “WotanJugend” (2011) was released. With the legend of the Russian NSBM and its leader, who was languishing in captivity at that time, Alexander had a long friendship. Previously, the leader Nezhegoli managed to participate in the recording of the album “Unshakable Faith” (2009), brilliantly performing clean vocals in two songs, incl. in the now cult “My Native Land”. On the split, where four songs from the first albums were presented from Nezhegoli, the musicians of M8L8TH in some way repaid Alexander by performing all the parts, except for the vocals themselves. As a result, the old songs acquired an unexpected, very dynamic and combative sound. It is impossible to deprive attention of the joint track – a cover of Sokira Perun “We are with You, Brother!”, sustained in the style of RAC, which is completely uncharacteristic for both groups, and nevertheless it turned out to be very successful. In general, the release significantly contributed to the expansion of Nezhegoli’s popularity, and in all plans benefited the group.

Just like the split, Nezhegoli’s new album could not be released for a long time due to the fault of the irresponsible Portuguese publisher: the delay stretched for almost a whole year. It was known that the new album would be called “Asgarda Raid” – in tune with the cult EP “Asgarsrei” of the fathers of NSBM Absurd, – two masterpiece tracks “The Anger of the High” and “Where Trees Grow on Stones” were posted online for review, admiring themselves and inflaming fans’ expectations. As a result, the autumnal album was released in the spring of 2012, but the unsuitable season did not eclipse the spirit of the masterpiece work: the reverse process took place in the hearts of the true connoisseurs of Nezhegoli.

“Asgarda Raid” has surpassed all imaginable and unimaginable expectations. His most powerful energy, epic, tragedy and height make any words to sing him insufficient. The pain and despair of the Hero of the White Race dying before our eyes are replaced by the majestic motives of the Wild Hunt, and in the end, the greatest decline promises to be replaced by a triumphant revival, the flowering of a sprout that has broken through a stone. The lyrics of the album, written this time not only by Alexander, but also by Alexei from M8L8TH (plus one song, “Eternal Earth Under Our Feet, was written by A.Less – a man from the WotanJugend circle), their power and depth can only be compared with the work of the great Kaldrada Branislava. The music this time was distinguished not only by the invariably authentic atmosphere and the richness of the composition, but also by the complete absence of former technical shortcomings (like inexpressive drums). As a result, “Asgarda Raid” has become not only a triumph of Nezhegol’s creativity, but also one of the iconic releases of the right-wing metal scene in recent years, thanks to which Nezhegol has gained quite wide recognition.

In addition to working on Nezhegol, Alexander is also the author of the ambient project Orchid (note that the album “News of the Past”, 2010, may be suitable for getting to know). In addition, after the resumption of the concert activity of M8L8TH, he repeatedly performed backing vocals, and after the announcement of the new album of the division, “The Saga of the Black March”, followed by a statement that Alexander is a full member of M8L8TH. Thus, the compositions of both flagship teams of the WotanJugend brotherhood officially crossed. One can only hope that this highly consistent and logical cooperation will not draw a line under Alexander’s main project.

The Nezhegol group has made a truly triumphant path from obscurity to glory, constantly improving, looking primarily not for new musical expressions, not for recognition, but for the true essence, the lost divine wisdom. Avoiding the well-worn paths, with their creative achievements, the band was able to approach the greats without using their techniques, without copying the sound of the projects of Kaldrad, Temnozori or anyone else. And even if Nezhegoli’s music is not so orthodox at the output – which confuses some black metal pedants – the main thing is that Alexander manages to carry a great, powerful message at the same time in a non-trivial, high and at the same time acceptable way, multiplying the ranks of supporters and paving the way for them to comprehension of the whole direction.

Band

Country

Russia

Date

2005

Format

Full-lenght

Genre

,

Storage

,

Lyrics

Пепел смутных времен

 

Пепел смутных времен,
В небе следы отравленных стрел,
Мечом мир покорен,
Тот, кто остался страхом истлел.

Призрачный свет перемен,
Плаха затушит под крики толпы,
По лицам гранитных стен,
В небо уходят надежды мои.

Пепел смутных времен,
Запах зачумленных городов,
Взгляды с серых икон,
За чередою кошмарных снов.

Траурной лентою лет,
Тянутся вяло дождливые дни,
Скорбный солнечный свет,
Сквозь прутья решеток темной души.

Братоубийсво, кровосмешение
Наследие падших в грязи королей,
Нарушив догматы, покупают прощение,
Молясь о спасении в стенах церквей.

(сентябрь 2004)

 

Хель

 

Глубоко под миром людей,
В сфере льда и холодных теней,
Солнце спустилось в туманный мир льда,
Но возродиться — придет весна.
Под нашими ногами

Хруст засохших корней,
Над нашими головами
Сплетение мертвых ветвей.
Жизнь покинула это место,

Она придет с новым рассветом,
Рассвет – это Мы!
Значит Мы – это Жизнь!

Богиня покоя и мертвых ветров,
Создала во тьме девять миров,
Семя жизни погребено там,
Под хрустальной скалою в глубоких снегах.
Нити судьбы в ее руках,
Холод смерти в туманных очах,
Души покойных спустились сюда,
Но возродятся, придет весна.

(сентябрь 2004)

 

Солнца Лучи

 

Ой, да проснусь я до рассвета,
Выйду напьюсь росою заветной,
Взором окину родные просторы,
Луга, леса, высокие горы.

Ой, поклонюсь восходящему солнцу,
Да поклянусь на клинке остром,
Защищать народ от напасти,
Хранить огонь во время ненастий.

Пробиваясь сквозь предрассветный сумрак,
Где силы ночи и силы дня сошлись,
Солнечные лучи плетут свой узор,
На теле моей Великой Земли!

Прожигая мглу,
Ведут день за собой,
В таинство рассвета,
Где тени играют со мной.

(Октябрь 2004)

Скрежетом Стали Мечи Запоют

 

Сквозь кровь и боль,
К долгожданной победе
В бессмертный круговорот
Поколений!

Захлебываясь от ненависти,
Рассекать сталью вражью орду,
Скинуть ярмо с Родной земли,
Верность и Честь в одном строю.

Битва покажет
Кто с Нами, кто нет,
Холодом стали,
Держим ответ!

Видеть, как гибнет отряд
Оставаясь с мечом в руке,
Слышать стон своих врагов,
Вернуть свободу своей земле.

С первым лучом восходящего солнца,
Знамением грядущей победы,
Встретить врага сталью холодной,
Защитить от больной веры землю Родную!

Захлебываясь от ненависти,
Рассекать сталью вражью орду,
Скинуть ярмо с Родной земли,
Верность и Честь в одном строю.

Скрежетом стали
Мечи запоют песню Победы
В юных сердцах огонь разожжет
Идея, за которую гибли их деды.

(ноябрь 2004)

 

Ведомый Силою Снов.

 

Зачат под полною луной,
В суровый час рожден зимой,
Тревожим снами о стране,
Где в волчий мех одеты все.

Мороз отец и вьюга мать,
Сына судьбу определили:
Блуждать в лесах в ту ночь,
Когда, луна полна на небе зимнем

Не по воле рожденный,
Против воли крещен,
Быть двуликим изгоем,
На век обречен.

Ослепший с рассветом,
Скитаюсь в лугах,
Но голод велик,
И вой на устах!

Ведомый силою снов
В страну густых диких лесов,
Ведая мудрость прожитых лет,
Не отогреть замерзших рек.

Не жалея серой волчьей шкуры,
Искал врагов сильней себя,
Ошибок роковых и глупых,
Ты совершил в часы когда,

Ведомый силою снов
В страну густых диких лесов,
Вечный мороз, короткий день,
Лишь волчий след в тени ветвей.

Ночью воспет,
Луною любим,
Солнечный свет,
Смоет мой грим.

Да, я умер несчастным,
Но умер один.
Гордыней замучен,
Небом судим.

Сливаясь с закатом,
Приветствую Навь,
За млечной дорогой
Осталась печаль.

(февраль 2003)

Настало время героев

 

Нарушат покой
Бескрайних степей
Оскверняющий топот
Копыт вражьих коней

Черною тучей
Над русской землею
Смердящее войско!
Настало время героев!

Хватит терпеть, Славяне!
Туземцев Русь не привыкла кормить!
С силой Земли и волей к Победе
Нас не остановить.

Объединимся, Славяне!
Ведь только в единстве крепче наш дух!
Границ не должно быть между нами!
Благословлен Богами наш путь!

В битве жестокой
За веру и кровь!
За будущее нашей земли!
С флагом победы

Наперевес
Иди напролом, сквозь вражьи полки!!!

(декабрь 2004)

 

Огненной Стрелой В Возмездия Час.

 

Огненной стрелой,
В небе яркий свет,
Боль пронзит висок,
Праведный ослеп.

Церкви полыхнут,
В тысячу свечей,
Рассмеется гром,
Под визг стальных мечей.

Грозные полки,
Поднимите флаг,
С ветром наравне,
Закружат вихрь атак.

И в возмездья час,
Прольется кровь врагов,
Род вними мой глас,
Сквозь чреду веков.

Братья и отцы,
За вас я отомщу,
Во сыру землю,
Врагов положу.

Вороньим крылом,
Тенью на кресте,
Отомщу за Русь,
Выживу в огне.

На сырой земле,
Отпечатан гнев,
В сером камне меч,
Бурь и гроз доспех.

Пьяные ветра,
Растревожат сон,
Всколыхнут умы,
Сотворят закон.

(ноябрь 2004)