War, as terrible as it is, has naturally been a persistent topic in metal music since the beginning… yet a conflict often ignored is the largest theater of war ever fought, the Eastern Front of World War II. Serving as a suitably epic soundtrack to the most titanic conflict in human history, Italian symphonic black/folk metal duo Voland are finally releasing their first full-length album with The Grieving Fields. Building upon a trio of EPs dating all the way back to 2008, this album thematically incorporates Italy’s role in the conflict while upping the grandiose symphonic elements of their own sound, even if some of the foundational black metal elements are lost in the process.

As I don’t think it’s intellectually honest to completely separate art from contemporary politics and history, doubtless Voland’s themes focusing on Russian history may appear tone deaf to some in light of the current geopolitical moment. But it must be remembered that the country has a much greater history and cultural impact beyond the current Russian state, and given what is known of Voland’s politics they are choosing to focus on the millions of lives (Russian, Ukrainian, and countless more) that were lost in the fight against fascism and Nazism on The Grieving Fields. To ignore this simply enables the worst nationalists and ethnic chauvinists on both sides of the current conflict.

While perhaps not the most prolific band in the genre, Voland have been producing some very unique black metal since the release of their self-titled EP in 2008; highly orchestral black metal incorporating Russian folk and classical elements for a Tchaikovsky-an symphony of metal detailing the Russian Revolution, the Great Patriotic War, and more recently the cult of the tsars. It’s not uncommon to find folk or symphonic black metal in post-Soviet states, but if you’re familiar at all with the region let’s just say they tend to sympathize and ideologically align with the other main belligerent of the Eastern Front. So to see Voland take up a red banner firmly against this is pretty damn refreshing.

The Grieving Fields doesn’t run too much longer than the pre-existing EPs at only 33 minutes, but it hits hard right out the gate with “227,” no doubt a reference to Stalin’s controversial Order No. 227 (even including the classic slogan “not one step back!”). Pounding drums and chugging, crushing guitars backed by orchestral strings and horns suitably create a martial atmosphere, but it’s not something I’d exactly call black metal. Earlier songs like “Leningrad” were clearly in this realm with buzzsaw guitars and frequent blast beats, but a majority of the material on the full-length is more in the realm of more general symphonic metal to my ears. There’s a fair amount of harsh vocals (and blast beats on tracks like “Saturno” and “ARMIR”), but the focus is on sweeping cleans of vocalist Rimmon. The band has never had a greater sound, but given the aforementioned ideological leanings of their peers in Eastern European folk/black I would’ve preferred something more in their blackened vein.

Voland have described themselves as a multicultural project, and this is continued on The Grieving Fields with the lyrics being sung in at least three languages (by my count): Russian, Italian, and a little bit of English. This album introduces direct Italian involvement into the themes of the band for the first time with the dirge-like “Saturno” describing Operation Little Saturn in which the Armata Italiana in Russia (also known as “ARMIR”, the subsequent track) was almost completely destroyed during the greater Red Army breakout from Stalingrad in late 1942. I wish the promo material for this album had accompanying lyrics so I could develop more of a connection to their themes, but the beautiful chorus of “Saturno” frequently references “katyushas” so I can get a basic gist of what’s going on at least. The final three tracks (in particular the bouncy “Rodina”) include more Russian folk influences which is nice to hear, but some more obvious thematic glue tying these and the first three songs together would have been welcome.

Although I might have preferred an overall blacker affair myself, The Grieving Fields is nonetheless a big achievement in the 18-year journey of Voland. An epic piece of symphonic metal for the largest scale conflict (ever, hopefully) in human history, it will undoubtedly be worth a listen for both history buffs and metal fans looking for a more atypical angle than we (Westerners, at least) are typically exposed to. Its release just two weeks before the 80th anniversary of VE Day is also an important reminder to never forget the sacrifices made, lest the world-shattering horror of WWII ever be repeated again.

— Colin

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The Grieving Fields is available now via Dusktone. For more information on Voland, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages.