This cd on Allerseelen’s Aorta label is thematically orientated around the text Wir Rufen deine Wölfe by Friedrich Hielscher. Hielscher was a man with many faces; writer, leader of a pagan community, resistance fighter against Hitler and friend of some well known writers, politicians and philosophers. Wir Rufen deine Wölfe is a poem he wrote in 1979 and can be seen as a pagan and romantic text in which the writer portrays his believe in ‘the return of the Gods’.
Seventeen different bands/musicians were asked to make a song around the text. The result is a diverse cd with a wide variety of contributions from the folky music with modern beats by Der Arbeiter and the Mediterranean magic pop from O Paradis to the pagan folk of Blood Axis and the bombastic sounds of Waldteufel.
All bands have created tracks with a truly touch of their own to it. Especially recommended are the versions played by Lady Morphia (some sort of jazzy gothic sound), Werkraum (tasteful neo-folk) and Riharc Smiles (modern medieval music).
This cd looks (design) and sounds (songs and sound quality) great. Taking one poem as starting point for all artists is an original idea that worked out fine. Conclusion: a beautiful piece of (art)work.
– MvG
A very interesting concept: seventeen different bands were invited to each create a song with the same text; the poem ‘Wir rufen deine Wölfe, written in 1978 by Friedrich Hielscher, in which he expresses his faith in the ‘return of the Gods’. The fine digipack shows some bloodthirsty wolves and a photo of the author at work. It’s nice to hear the different manners in which the bands (quite an international line-up) build a song around this poem. Most songs have a folky sound, with some more exotic pieces.
In general I enjoy this compilation a lot, most songs are of a high quality or in any case entertaining. Two tracks really stand out to my taste: Werkraum, a very promising act, with an infectious swirling folksong, with convincing vocals and some cheerful trumpets, that sounds somewhere between Blood Axis and Allerseelen, but with some original elements. Blood Axis itself is in excellent shape with their rendition, with a joyous traditional folkpiece, somewhere between older classics like ‘Brian Boru’ and ‘Follow me up to Carlow’. I would not mind if Blood Axis came up with a complete album!
This album is not all about traditional folk. With a compilation initatiated by Allerseelen, there of course also some sensual Catalan sounds presents, with the songs by O Paradis and Circe, which give the album the necessary variation in sound and mood. Waldteufel and Lady Morphia incorporate some gothic rock influences, while Riharc Smiles turns it into a medieval drinking song. The album is closed with a militant sounding, bombastic piece by Italian hope Der Feuerkreiner.
My apologies to the bands I forgot to mention, but most of them can be proud of their contributions. There are even a few promising sounding names I didn’t know (well) yet, like Der Arbeiter, Graumahd, Erdgeist and Sturmpercht. After listening to the complete album you can easily sing along with the lyrics. I’ve added a ‘free’ Dutch translation of the poem below.
– HD
We roepen uw wolven
We roepen uw wolven
En we roepen uw speer
We roepen alle twaalven
Uit de hemel naar ons neer.
We roepen u boven alles
De wilde jacht kan nu van start
Laat de hoorns schallen
En treur niet om de doden.
De vijand is al gevallen
nog voor de morgen komt.
Het wild heeft geen naam
En de vijand geen gezicht
Het karkas heeft geen zaad
Rechtvaardig is het gerecht.
Het koren is vergaan
Het kaf vandaag te koop
De raven eisen nu
Hun beloofde deel.
De jacht is nu begonnen
Here, laat uw zegen
ons een steun zijn onderweg.
Friedrich Hielscher (1979)
translation: Hans D.
