June, 2007

Waerloga Records and Radio Rivendell present a fresh fantasy music compilation. Fans of dark ambient, orchestral, neo folk, video game, fantasy music will enjoy this compilation. Radio Rivendell has gathered the 16 artists carefully with the goal of revealing some of the best up and coming acts in the genre. Almost all of the tracks are previously unreleased. In short a dark, moody and varied compilation, with a high quality of music. You can see the compilation as an instrumental soundtrack to several (not existing) fantasy music films or games…

Radio Rivendell (www.radiorivendell.com) is a non-commercial, non-profit making web-based radio station dedicated to playing fantasy music. The station has been online since 2001 and its music content is mainly from fantasy films like Lord of the Rings, Conan, Willow, etc. It also features music from well known computer games including Warcraft, Baldur’s Gate, Dungeon Siege and many more.

The core listeners are either roleplay fans who want some ambient background music when they are playing, or fans of soundtracks in general. More recently the station has also started to play music from unknown artists who have either scored music to obscure games that never made it into the mainstream, or from artists who compose for the love of it.

Highlights of this collection, for me, include:

Into the Green - The Heroes Return: This is possibly the collection’s most mainstream style theme tune and has a lot of energy.

Voice of Seraphim: As impressive as any movie soundtrack you’ll hear. In fact I was reminded of Patrick Doyle’s music - especially from the movie Eragon.

The Pavillion: An interesting slow track that builds nicely. Escape from the Dragon’s Lair: A great track which gets the blood pumping - ideal to listen to when playing a game that involves a race against time, or some sort of chase.

The Mermaid: Part I: The Storm: Arguably this compilation’s most beautiful piece. By far and away my favourite track. It sounds not unlike Danny Elfman’s incidental music for Edward Scissorhands. In fact there are more than a few Elfman beats used through out this piece.

While this compilation is pretty impressive and showcases a lot of new talent I wonder how many people will actually want to purchase this when they can listen to an endless stream of music for free on Radio Rivendell’s website. Personally I think it’s worth buying and will find a welcome home amongst any soundtrack, or roleplay fan’s collection.

Ray Thompson

June, 2007

I really like the diversity of this sampler, ranging from straightforward tracks to really dark fantasy music, and from experimental soundscapes to more atmospheric pieces. And “Radio Rivendell compilation” also compiles many lesser known but promising acts. Sixteen bands are gathered here, with ‘fantasy’ as the unifying theme on this album. Overall the tracks on this compilation are very good. The stiles mix well.

Five tracks stand out as being the ones I think are the best: Markus Holler “Neblemaerch”, Lost Kingdom “In Heaven”, Abnocto “Spiritus arma”, Sean Beeson “Voice of the seraphim” and Helen Trevilion “The Mermaid part I The Storm”.

But really all of the tracks on the album are very good. There are some nice slower, atmospheric pieces, like the contributions by Gargrim the liar “Pavilion” and Volstoj “Bleeding the bishop”. Rising Shadows “Dead cold” could be maybe a little bit longer. It never really kicks off even though the song is atmospheric and very beautiful. Sibelian “Wish fulfilling jewel” is a very cool mix of opera and dark ambient.

I like many of the bands on this compilation and want to hear a lot more of all the artists!

Irma S. Mandel

May, 2007
Grade: 5/5

This the compilation I have always wanted to hear. Waerloga compilation vol. 1 - A tribute to Uglakh was the start and this is one hell of a follow up! The music on this compilation has a lot of atmosphere and there are some excellent contributions on it.

I have to admit I was concerned at first when I heard about this release. Waerloga in Rivendell? Sounds like a collaboration between dark fantasy and elvish Enya fantasy. I looked up Radio Rivendell and found out I was all wrong. The radio station focuses mainly on fantasy music as a whole and not only on cheesy girlish fantasy. Why I even, in the first place, thought Radio Rivendell had to be only about new age and Enya I do not know. Probably because many of the elven inspired bands have hijacked elves and made the songs about them into pop and cheesy garbish. Maybe only me being cynical?

Instead of my fear I found that many of the songs played on the radio are from films. Andres or "Elrond" as he calls himself on the radio webpage have gathered some of the best soundtracks that fit. He has also computer game music scores, music from dark ambient and neo-classical acts. Arcana have many albums on the show as an example.

A funny side note is that the Waerloga records band Za Frûmi has divided the radio station in two! I know it because the radio station let listeners make short reviews of the song they hear or heard before. In the comments most people love and adore Za Frûmi but the haters are loud and seem to represent another side of fantasy. The ambient scene have since long been divided in cells/groups. Is it time for the fantasy inspired music scene (dark ambient, neoclassical, folk/medieval, computer game music, film music and dark soundscapes) to experience the same as the ambient scene did a while back? If so (sorry if this is already happening but if it does it is not something many do) would the stiles be named: Dark fantasy, elvish fantasy, orcish fantasy, Hollywood fantasy, Zimmer fantasy or maybe even Conan (insert favorite film) fantasy? Or, maybe not.

Back to the compilation.

Best known names for me are Abnocto (I just wrote a review of their debut, but knew of them from before from some other good compilations), Erdenstern, Rising Shadows and Morgan the Bard. But there are a couple of really cool surprises on this compilation from bands that I had not heard about from before!

Erdenstern have a suite on the compilation, containing the two main themes,"Into The Green" and the heroes theme, combined into a whole story in short. The song is remixed especially for the compilation. Erdenstern picked the piece as a "special" for the CD, and as an attraction to all the people who liked the bands music and already have "Into The Green". The song is very good and Erdenstern fits a compilation like this perfectly!

Another German is Markus Holler which are the computer game composer of (among others) "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl". Marcus song is the first on the CD and it is very well written and performed.

The third German act is called Balaghan and is the solo project of Bernard Kahlen. His music is also game music fantasy with melodies that get you think about role-playing games (as with Erdenstern) such as Dungeons & Dragons RPG.

Two acts originate from England. Tincolindo and Helen Trevilion. The last act is, known for her website called destiny hikari, kind of the lighter of the pieces on the album. I listened to some of her material on her site and it often are a bit to much pop for my taste but in some songs she shine like the true star she could be! The song on this album is wonderful and a great way to end the compilation. Tincolindo´s song "Priestess of Avalon" is very easy to understand its inspiration. As you hear the song you can see the mist, the ship and the island.

Two of the more odd pieces come from Italy. Morgan the bard and Project Morfeo. Morgan the bard has been on compilations such as one tributing Falkenbach. The original black metal version of "Galdralag" has been composed by Falkenbach. The track got several dimensions and I can clearly hear the inspiration of Summoning mixed with Medieval-Troubadour & Renaissance music. The song works best in the beginning and then kind of drifts away. I knew of Morgan the bard from before and I think the track is mighty fine. Project Morfeo start their song with some old school sounds of a dragon and work through different passages in the composition. I like some passages, dislike some and love others.

The lone warrior from New Zealand goes under the name Tom W Hall. The info pages about this compilation give me some info: "On the compilation we can hear the original "prototype" version of what became three lengthier parts used as the soundtrack for Sarah Forgan’s "Freakshow - Performing Secrets" piece at the Dunedin Fringe Festival 2006?. The song is very easy to like. It got a dark and rather melancholy feel to it. Very much like film music to some dark thriller or drama maybe? I feel sadness in the song. It ends with some strange industrial thing which could maybe been shorten a little. This is a very good track!

Another lone wolf (when it comes to origin) is Dimitrij Volstoj. He is a Russian director, conductor and composer of music. He is also known for his work arranging choirs. Dimitrij is living in Canada (Saskatchewan). According to the info page about the release "Dimitrij fled Russia in the early 80s and still have some legal issues with his birth town which make him use different artistic names. Even the name Dimitrij Volstoj is not his real name." His music is dark as hell and he got the without a doubt best track name "Bleeding the bishop". The track is dark and atmospherically with female and male vocals.

From USA the compilation got two game music composers: Willbert Roget II and Sean Beeson. Both are very talented! Willbert with the track "Atonement" have a very likable piece of dark soundtrack music. The track is very well written. Sean Beeson has done music for films which one can hear in his music. Like "Atonement" the track "Voice of the Seraphim" is very well written and beautiful. I would like to hear more of both of these composers for sure!

Then we have the Swedes. They have no less than five acts on this compilation CD. Abnocto (Simon Heath and Simon Kölle) have a track called "Spiritus arma" which is very atmospheric and dark. This is also the opening track on Abnocto´s debut album entitled "Simon Magus". As you see it’s the name Simon that’s in focus a lot. The track is one of the best on the compilation and that says a lot. Rising Shadows (Fredrik Klingwall and Linda-li Dahlin) had an interesting debut album released some while back and this track was very much sounding like it. Pretty slow and enchanting track. It is not the best song made by Rising Shadows but I like it.

Two Swedish brothers Mikael & Daniel Tjernberg are Lost Kingdom. They appear with a track called "In Heaven". Hell, I am in heaven listening to it. It is neo-classical with a touch of both romanticism and modernism. I want to hear more from this duo. I would love for them to Explore in the further regions of experience. Demons to some. Angels to others. Something like that. What I mean is that if I lack something it is a touch of more darkness. Very intriguing and nice track.

Another very cool and fresh track comes from Sibelian. A Swedish project of Stephen John Svanholm. According to the info page he (in the 80s and early 90s) played lead guitar in a British funk metal band called Ignorance, releasing two CDs and touring extensively. After this he went on to study classical music at University and then specialize in opera singing at Music College in England. You can on his track "Wish Fulfilling Jewel" here a very unique mix of opera (no words), chanting and moody music.

Gargrim the liar is the project of Andres aka Elrond. The track "The Pavilion" is one of the best on the compilation! It has a slow and searching beginning but after a while it is pure magic. Very atmospheric, beautiful and haunting.

If you want to dream of great fantasy worlds you should purchase this compilation. Make sure to check out Radio Rivendell (Radio station): http://www.radiorivendell.com

An inspiring album with a lot of talented artists!

Ivan Racheck

July, 2007
Grade: 7/10

Radio Rivendell es una estación de radio en internet. Su temática musical está directamente ligada con el mundo de lo fantástico. Bandas sonoras en la línea de "El Señor de los Anillos", música de videojuegos como “The Operational Art of War" y "The Delicate Pearls of Pandora" y ambientaciones para diversos juegos de rol, siembran su parrilla de emisión.

SibelianEsto nos lleva a un terreno en el que todavía no hemos ahondado demasiado en Mentenebre pero que toca de lleno nuestro concepto. Es el inexorable mundo de lo fantástico, que tanto nos ha gustado siempre a los oscuros. Si que es verdad que nos hemos aproximado a este tema con bandas de Prikosnovenie o Equilibrium Music, y con grupos patrios como Trobar de Morte, Narsilion o Priscilla Hernández, pero la propuesta de este recopilatorio se sale un poco de este marco. Casi todos los temas aquí presentados son instrumentales, de corte cuasi orquestal, muy próximos al concepto de banda sonora.

Así, una referencia fundamental será Lisa Gerrard quien lleva ya unos cuantos años plasmando sus maravillosas creaciones musicales en producciones filmográficas. De este modo nos vamos a encontrar un tema en este trabajo 'Wish Filfilling Jewel', uno de los que incluye vocalizaciones, por parte de Sibelian, y cuya deuda con la australiana es muy notable. También con apartado vocal, interpretado de modo fundamentalmente coral es el que nos ofrece Abnocto, 'Spiritus Arma', cercano a parámetros Dark Ambient con atmósferas medievales muy conseguidas, que me recuerda, salvando las distancias, a las producciones más "góticas" de Raison D’Être.

Markus HollerHay temas de corte clasicista, puramente académicos, plenamente orquestales, entre los que destacan 'In Heaven' de Lost Kingdom y 'Atonement' de Wilbert Roget, este último con un alarde de grandilocuencia en el apogeo del tema en el que aparece la percusión, en uno de los mejores tramos musicales del CD. También hay alguna aproximación al Dark Folk como es el caso de Project Morfeo, con 'Escape from the Dragons Lair', que posee timbales a los que se superponen percusiones sintetizadas. Es uno de los temas más contundentes del recopilatorio y sin duda uno de los temas a destacar. Hay también varios temas medievalizantes, en los que la flauta tiene gran notoriedad, como 'Nebelmärchen' de Markus Holler. Son paisajes de tierras de elfos, de atmósferas bucólicas, ideales para cualquier propuesta escapista.

La verdad es que el CD resulta muy agradable en líneas generales, es tranquilo a excepción de algunos puntos culminantes en algunos temas. Es uno de esos álbumes que te pones de fondo para a acompañar cualquier novela de Tolkien u otras fantasías arcanas. Así que cogeté un buen libro, ponte este CD y ¡a disfrutar!

July, 2007
Grade: 9/10

L’etichetta svedese Waerloga si occupa esclusivamente della realizzazione di materiale legato a tematiche ed atmosfere fantasy, trattando stili musicali che stanno fra il neoclassico, il folk/medieval, la musica per videogiochi, le colonne sonore e le sonorità oscure. Radio Rivendell, invece, è l’unica stazione radio via internet dedicata interamente alla musica fantasy correlata ai videogiochi, ai film ed alla propria base di artisti ancora senza contratto. Dalla collaborazione fra queste due entità nasce la superba compilation qui in esame, che in quasi 70 minuti raccoglie 16 brani per altrettanti act facenti riferimento, artisticamente parlando, ai generi di cui sopra. È quindi facile arguire dove si stia andando a parare: si tratta di materiale che farà la gioia di chi apprezza le realtà oscure più ricercate come Dargaard, Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, Ataraxia, primi Arcana, Impressions Of Winter, Autumn Tears etc. e di chi segue con passione nomi più blasonati come Dead Can Dance, Enya, Bel Canto e Loreena McKennitt, ma anche dei seguaci di Trobar De Morte, Narsilion, Lugburz, Ordo Funebris, Caprice, Chandeen etc… Un suono che proviene da mondi fantastici, in buona sostanza, e che ad essi riporta con la forza e la bellezza delle proprie atmosfere. Fra i 16 act della raccolta scorgiamo solo un paio di nomi noti (ambedue svedesi), e si tratta di realtà ancora ‘di ultranicchia’ come i Rising Shadows (intervistati per la prima volta in assoluto proprio qui su DARKROOM Magazine poco tempo fa) e quegli Abnocto che a breve tratteremo in sede di recensione; gli altri, provenienti anch’essi in prevalenza dal Nord Europa, si chiamano Markus Holler, Erdenstern, Sean Beeson, Wilbert Roget II, Gargrim The Liar, Dimitrij Volstoj, Sibelian, Tom W Hall, Balaghan, Lost Kingdom, Tincolindo, Project Morfeo, Morgan The Bard (provenienti da Rimini e ancora senza contratto) ed Helen Trevillion, e difficilmente qualcuno di loro sarà già noto ai nostri lettori… Eppure si tratta non solo di nomi capaci e di compositori eccellenti, ma in molti casi addirittura di autentici professionisti del settore, ossia gente che di mestiere compone musiche per film o videogame, e qualcuno fra essi ha già anche pubblicato degli album… E allora ben venga quest’ottima compilation, la quale, pur con una veste grafica tanto bella esteticamente quanto spartana nei contenuti, ha il grandissimo pregio di farci scoprire tutta una serie di artisti nei quali difficilmente ci saremmo imbattuti, ma che invece hanno tutte le carte in regola per sedurre chi almeno una volta nella vita si è beato di queste sonorità… Melodie delicate ed incantate che paiono provenire da secoli perduti, eppure senza tempo, ora più sontuose e maestose (come nelle migliori colonne sonore), ora più neoclassiche o addirittura folk, quando non addirittura ambient, appena velate dalle sfuggenti voci (in prevalenza femminili) che affiorano qua e là in fugaci apparizioni… Il senso del soave si mescola di continuo con l’oscurità in un magico flusso di canzoni, reso univoco da quella forte spiritualità che è il comune denominatore di tutti gli artisti partecipanti e che contribuisce in maniera determinante alla riuscita dell’intero progetto. Ogni singolo episodio merita grande attenzione, e si passa letteralmente da una perla all’altra senza ‘bassi’ degni di menzione; se a ciò aggiungiamo il fatto che quasi tutto il materiale incluso è praticamente introvabile, quando non addirittura totalmente inedito (o comunque mai pubblicato ufficialmente), questa raccolta acquista la valenza di un oggetto più che appetibile per chi ama le sonorità da essa proposte. E speriamo vivamente che la Waerloga, peraltro ben gestita da Simon Kölle e Simon Heath (attivi musicalmente come Abnocto e Za Frûmi, ed Heath è anche la mente dietro ad Atrium Carceri), possa diventare la ‘casa’ per tutta una serie di artisti che meritano sicuramente l’attenzione di un pubblico più vasto, a partire proprio dalla frangia ‘oscura’.

Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi for Darkroom Magazine

June, 2007

I can’t say that a collection of ‘fantasy music’ sounds all that appealing, but this has some really gorgeous and exceptionally well produced material on it from artists most of you probably aren’t aware of. Sure, some stuff borders a bit on the sappy, new-agey side of things, but there’s also a lot of very cinematic and dramatic material here; swelling string instrumentation, rousing brass, and epic choral accompaniments, with a talent and production level that‘as absolutely top notch.

This is a must for this into the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, and should appeal to all those into Arcana, The Protagonist, etc. To top it off, this flows very nicely between tracks and really sounds like one complete soundtrack, as opposed to a hodgepodge of artists thrown together..

Malignant Records

June, 2007
Grade: 5/5

The second compilation by Waerloga Records from Sweden again devoted to a wide variety of fantasy music. The album contains a mixture of melodic and atmospheric music. Waerloga team up with my friends at Radio Rivendell, a great internet based radio focused only on fantasy. Both the light and the dark side of it.

Most noteworthy on the compilation is without a doubt the presence of Markus Holler, Abnocto, Lost Kingdom and Helen Trevillion.

The compilations contains of 16 lesser known acts. Most of the tracks here are very good. There are some nice slower, atmospheric pieces, like the contributions by Sean Beeson, Erdenstern, Balaghan, Markus Holler and Wilbert Roget II that sound like video game music. Good such music should be added! Furthermore there are some dark and very atmospheric tracks created by Gargrim the liar, Dimitrij Volstoj, Abnocto, Rising shadows, Sibelian and Tom W Hall. Morgan The Bard’s track could be described as a mix of fairy inspired fantasy and something strange. Project Morfeo with "Escape from the Dragons Lair" explain the song in the title. An escape the dragon song.

Averil "Tincolindo" White, Helen Trevillion and Lost Kingdom stand out on their separate way. The first with a slow atmospheric song that is not so dark. The second by an awesome (as I can hear) Sleepy Hollow tribute and the third with a track inspired by romantic avantgarde classical music.

A mixed bunch of artists that go very well together. An entertaining compilation that gives me goose bumps on several occasions. This compilation is a good way to get to know some new names and one of the best internet radio stations out there!

Read more on the artists and find out links to their websites and myspace sites on: www.radiorivendell.com/compilation

David Purdie

July, 2007
Grade: 5/5

It’s always rewarding to encounter a new genre or style of music and this compilation offers a looking glass into the world of fantasy/ Roll Playing music, which I know brings to mind either awful new ageneses or dated synthesizer music played by people in troll masks. Thankful this is neither of those, instead it’s an epic and varied collection of grand scores for films or adventures yet to be had.

Both Radio Rivendell and Waerloga records specialize in the genre and decided to get together to release an excellent selection from the best the genre has to offer. he tracks more often than not are built and sailed in grand atmospheric fashion by full Orchestras, with a keen ear for timeless melodies and vast sweeping panoramic and dramatic scoring. When not in full orchestra and string form the music is mystical and enchanted with soothing harps, choirs and even impressive operatics. All the tracks have such a commitment for quality, depth and authenticity of sound, this never sounds tacky or cheesy. Surprisingly too for a compilation it’s seems to flow nicely as a whole, clearly real thought has been given to the sequencing of tracks.

A few of my favouritemoments here would be; Erdenstern’s Into the Green - a hero returns, which utilizes full orchestration that goes from touching to very big sounding weaving six wonderful melodic minutes of muisc. It really does bring to mind a hero’s return over vast rolling hills and forests expanse to his birth town, where the towns people dress in their best finery & the streets are laden with banners. Sibelian’s Wish Fulfilling Jewel – with it’s mix’s of rich and dramatic cello and string swoon, thats hovered over in downcast and melodic beautiful by fine male operatic soar and strange doomy black monk chants. Tom W Hall’s Freakshow soundtrack with its beautiful often doom cast and dramatic mix of building acoustic guitar, piano melodies and dark swooning string. Before it bizarrely side-steps in jarring electronics that bring to mind a huge mechanical spider scuttling across a tin stage.Or the bell dancing stomp of acoustics guitars and drums of Morgan The Bard’s Galdralag. Really I could go on as there are so many high points in its near 70 minutes playing time.

So really if you enjoy soundtracks or well written and dramatic orchestra music, or just fancy something a little different and have adventure in your heart this high quality compilation is a must.

Roger Batty for Musiquemachine.com

July, 2007
Grade: 3/5

Radio Rivendell es una emisora de radio online (www.radiorivendell.com) especializada en música relacionada con la fantasía. Casi todo lo que suena procede de las bandas sonoras de películas o de videojuegos, un campo este último en plena ebullición. Cuando escuchas la selección de temas de este recopilatorio parece que estuvieras viendo duendes, magos, princesas, trolls o brujas dando vida (figurada) a los sonidos.

El Periódico de la Publicidad

Radio Rivendell je jediná internetová rozhlasová stanice venující se pouze muzice, kterou bychom mohli hodit do pytle fantasy. Co do této škatulky patrí? Hudba k pocítacovým hrám, filmum, divadelním hrám, ale samozrejme i tato scéna má své hudební predstavitele. Rada z nich má práve díky rádiu první možnost predstavit svou tvorbu širší verejnosti. Díky kompilaci Radio Rivendell Compilation se navíc rada z nich premiérove dostane i na stríbrný kotoucek oficiálne vydaného nosice.

Príležitost zde dostalo celkem 16 umelcu doslova z celého sveta. Prevažují hudebníci ze Skandinávie, ale najdeme zde zástupce z Ruska, Nového Zélandu, Anglie, Itálie nebo Spojených státu. Leckdo fantasy automaticky spojuje se speedmetalem, ale ten na této kompilaci nenajdeme. Prevážná cást nahrávek táborí na území mezi hranicemi klasické hudby, filmových soundtracku a temnejší elektroniky. Jak už to u novácku bývá, nákladný orchestr je casto maskován elektronicky, najdeme zde ale i ukázky ve kterých dominují akustické nástroje a bohaté smíšené sbory. Tématicky se v bájích vracíme do hluboké evropské minulosti, a prekvapive casto cestujeme i na dávný východ.

Osobne bych ze šestnácti príspevku vyzdvihl projekt Gargin The Lair (pripomínající nemecké Stoa), Dmitrije Volstoje, který se nebál do neoklasické snivé kompozice s radou operních vokálu zaclenit funkcní foukací harmoniku nebo Švéda Stephena Svanholma alias Sibelia, jehož skladba Wish Fullfilling Jewel jiste poteší každého fanouška Dead Can Dance. Kompilace si me i pres pocátecní neduveru (fantasy neholduji a rada podobne ladených projektu u me dokázala vybudovat mírný predsudek) dokázala získat. Autori totiž vybrali skutecne jen ty umelce, kterí dokázali pripravit silné kompozice a nedrželi se pouze vyšlapaných pohodlných cesticek.

July, 2007
Grade: 9.75

Which is the nerdiest genre of music? Some might say metal (after all, who'd listen to guys shrieking about Satan over random tremolo picking but nerds?), classical (music without a chorus? counterpoint and harmony? orchestration?) or even noise (don't think much of an explanation is needed).

All three are wrong. This compilation here, Waerloga Records’ Radio Rivendell, is the nerdiest thing ever, bar none. Wait, I should say one of the most awesome compilations AND the nerdiest thing ever, bar none.

Seeing as Radio Rivendell features music from medieval, soundtrack and ambient composers, it'd be expected for the compilation to be good enough. But it isn't just good enough, it's a whole soundtrack to any nerdy D&D-ish thing you can think of. Epic battles, tavern music, evil monster that rules the world, town music, marching music, etc...

Just like most soundtrack music, most of the tracks evoke a specific situation. Balaghan's "Secret Place" is like a journey; Lost Kingdom's "In Heaven" is like a peaceful stay in town; Rising Shadow's "Dead Cold," with its enigmatic arpeggios and harp lines, feels like town music too, but for a really far off place.

In a way, the Radio Rivendell compilation works like a soundtrack to an imaginary game, and it is, as a whole, stylistically quite similar to Jeremy Soule's soundtrack for "The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind" video game (which I personally recommend if you enjoy the music here.)

Most of the tracks are done in a mainly neoclassical style (and I don't mean neoclassical shred, thankfully) with medieval influences being stronger on some tracks and nonexistant in others, just like what you'd want to listen to while playing an RPG. Or, if you're nerdy enough, Dungeons & Dragons. But really, the thing that makes it all so mindnumbingly great is the fact that everything is clasically composed with every note carefully thought out. It's not surprising that some guys found here have written music for soundtracks.

Even while most artists are obviously different in style, there's a cohesion on Radio Rivendell that I haven't seen in any other compilation. It almost seems like most artists were told to work in a specific style, so everyone worked thinking about the same thing. Highlights include Markus Holler’s, Erdenstern's and Morgan the Bard's tracks, but really, every single one of the tracks here is remarkable and fits the compilation perfectly.

If you're at all into medieval, classical, soundtrack music, ambient with actual music going on or anything nerdy, go ahead. Otherwise, you'll probably find Radio Rivendell to be a cheesefest (and you know what? you're probably right, but it being a cheesefest is the best thing about it!.) Expect great things, as you'll find plenty here.

Ignacio Coluccio

15 September, 2007

Ever since I was little, I enjoyed reading fantasy and scifi books. I haven't read Lord Of The Rings until my early/mid twenties though. And though the LOTR films came out before I read them, I was thrilled to see them. I was reading quite a lot of fantasy, mainly the books of Raymond E Feist, and I just love to imagine those romaticised medieval kind of times, with fantasy creatures as dwarfs, elves, trolls, griffins, dragons, etc. When such a story is put to image, it's so easy for me to be sucked into the story, desiring to be part of that world for real. What would be cooler to live in such a world with a beautifull and strong nature where the different species create all kinds of music? Dwarfs make more drum based stuff and drinking songs, elves are more into poetry backed by harps and flutes and magicians just create soundscapes out of thing air. How lucky we are for soundtracks to films like Lord Of The Rings. There can indeed be music that manages to put me in the same state as a book, series of film can do.

The Waerloga Records label is focused on Fantasy Music. They have several CD's out by their main artist, Za Frûmi, a project centered around orcs (Za Frûmi means "The Orcs" in Black Speech). Besides that, the artists they have contracted are Encryption, a wonder Belgian gothic/occult ambient project; Abnocto, a dark orchestral ambient project; and their newest addition, also to be found on this release: Lost Kingdom, a wonderful Swedish (neo)classical/filmmusic project. Radio Rivendell is mainly an online radio station, playing music from various fantasy soundtracks, as well as fantasy games. Over time, they started to promote artists as well, and as a result they produced together with Waerloga this wonderful compilation.

If you like ambient, neoclassical, film- and gamemusic, this is definitely one to pick up. Be dragged along into epic songs that put images of gigantic heroic battles in your mind. Calm down in the treetops listening to elves playing their gentle songs. For 77 minutes, just imagine yourself being in fantasy worlds and stories. It's so easy. The music will take your hand, and all you have to have is just a little imagination. Create a mountain area, filled with trees. In the distance stands a castle. As the music plays, make up your own story. Is there a gathering of knights, a busy market, an attack, a medieval gig perhaps?

The wonderful music together with the beautiful artwork and photo's makes this release definitely one every lover of fantasy needs to have. Be it books, films, games, lifestyle, or film- or gamemusic, you will want to have this fantasy music compilation. There are 16 artists to discover. My favorite on must be Sibelian though, the seventh track, one of the few with vocals. One might remember his song 'The Sin Eater' on Cold Meat Industry's 2CD compilation 'Flowers Made Of Snow'. What little people know though, is that Sibelian also has a full length release out, 'The Soul Rush', on magnatune.com, one really nice label, at which you decide the price if you want to buy the music.

ChAwech