Review Summary: Against empire and aristocracy.
Ever since the 1821 insurrection against the Ottoman empire that led to the birth of a free Hellenic state, an ongoing debate has been simmering within the walls, regarding the origins of a nation that’s celebrating its bicentennial of independence this year. On one side, there is the clergy and renowned academic Byzantinologists such as Eleni Glykantzi Arveleur, who posit (and have established to a significant degree) that Hellenism straddles between orthodox Christianity and the Byzantine empire (the latter in terms of its political structure, ubiquity of the Hellenic language therein and, well, orthodox Christianity). On the other side, there’s the conviction that the city states which comprised ancient Hellas and their combined/multifaceted legacy, is the nation’s definitive point of origin.
Both countering points have a seemingly common space; Byzantium was a Hellenophone descendant of the Roman empire, which inherited a lot from ancient Hellas. Byzantium was fastidious in maintaining its stern political/religious system, and securing the mosaic of nations therein, under the imperial yoke (while suppressing their ethnic and religious traits, consciously or unconsciously). Ancient Hellenes had kings, tyrants, and cut-throat politics as well, but eventually some of them invented democracy; city states were on almost constant (civil) war with one another (save for the Olympics), but when the Persian empire invaded the region, they became one in the face of the massive enemy; ancient Hellenes adopted slavery, but at some point, Solon the Athenian passed a decree that protected his fellow citizens from being deprived of their freedom, due to debt. List can go on.
Ancient Hellas decayed at some point in time, but along with peering civilizations, it left a legacy for the world to build upon, a legacy that according to Hellene philosopher Cornelius Castoriades, was reenacted and enriched only during the French Enlightenment, which in turn, matured the quest for liberation from the Ottoman empire, both within Hellas and abroad. So, when foreign “allies” sided with Athens as capital of the free state, there were probable and symbolic reasons to do so, besides practical ones (Thessaloniki, second only to Constantinople during the Byzantine years, would take almost another century to be liberated and annexed). Unsurprisingly, Arveleur dismisses Athens as capital, as apart from being a politically insignificant town within her historical focus, a considerable number of Albanians resided therein at the time, and therefore mixed with the natives. And yet, Ayloss sings in “Storming the Walls of Mystras”:
I, pagan son of the forest,
Join my Albanian brothers and sisters
With whom we share no language
But the shackles that we must break
Castles Conquered and Reclaimed touches upon notable social insurrections during the Byzantine era, but it does not restrict itself within the said time frame. What is brought to the fore is the narratives from the perspective of the folk at the lower echelons of society and its struggle against the indiscretions of empires and aristocracy, as Ayloss quotes in the album’s liner notes. Consequently, Mystras’ debut album distances itself from what is the norm in the artwork and lyrics at traditional metal, namely the praise of knights, overlords and emperors as proponents of honour and valour, whereas in fact, it was the other way around.
For all those who have come to appreciate Spectral Lore and their collaborations with other appreciable forces of the extreme metal underground, reading Ayloss’ name in the album credits will automatically increase expectations, and rightfully so. What’s prevalent in
Castles Conquered and Reclaimed is its lo-fi sound work. Now, the term “lo-fi” will make many to hit the nail on the head about what’s really heard on the album, rest assured though; Ayloss has done a great job. Almost everything is perfectly audible (even the bass), but in order to hear “almost everything”, each prospective pair of ears should gradually acclimate itself to the sound. The only way to do it, is by listening to the album time and again and with good headphones or speakers. The fuzzy production also works in experiencing both the music and the concept “from a distance” and with “some ambiguity”, just like historians examine centuries old written documentation and archaeological findings, in order to decide/speculate what is history and what is merely hearsay.
Does the music worth the prompted while? The question is rhetorical, although to put everything in perspective, the wheel is not reinvented musically. Ayloss handles all metal instrumentation (plus keyboards) and unleashes an offensive, that reenacts the impetus with which, not only castles and empires, but also freedom and livelihoods of common folk, were reclaimed and conquered. Multiple layers of harsh and choral vocals, along with snippets of spoken word have been crammed within the instrumentals; the effect of the former corresponds to the roar of opposing combatants in battles, while the latter brings in mind the prose of ancient poets as they narrate the battles they’ve seen firsthand or heard from previous generations by word of mouth. Atop the black metal blast beating, there’s frantic/atmospheric soloing to be heard, which augments the tension and the album’s epic character, along with the masterful manipulation of the song dynamics, for example in “Storming the Walls of Mystras”. What’s more, folk/medieval melodies, either add a melodic note (“The Zealots of Thessaloniki”) or exist as self-consistent intermissions. Having been trained to play medieval/folk music from an early age, Ayloss and a handful of invited guests have materialized those short instrumental passages, whose origin is either European or oriental, whereas their names (“O Tsakitzis”) point to stories and legends that adhere to the album’s concept.
The album artwork depicts a hypothetical part of the walled city of Mystras during its heyday, built on one of the summits of Taygetos mountain range; the term hypothetical is used, as it is based on partial sketches that date back to medieval times. One detail that’s there, and is 100% accurate is the extended network of stone stairs that lead to and traverse the city ruins; its full traversal requires patience and stamina, the same requisites that medieval folk used to claim their rights against their rulers. According to Ayloss, the first Mystras album has anything but exhausted its concept; he has revealed that a trilogy of albums (plus split work) could possibly do the job, hence whatever anticipation there is about future Mystras material, involves not only the level of differentiation regarding the music, but also the stories to be told under a different, more pragmatic light. If
Castles Conquered and Reclaimed depicts anything, is the necessity to rival those who shape (hi)storytelling to their own agenda. To that end, it’s no wonder that French writer and researcher Christian Salmon concludes his 2007 treaty
Storytelling: The Machine that Fabricates Stories and Manipulates the Spirits, with the words of Michel Paul Foucault, that “We must listen to the roar of battle that’s raging near us”.
