Details:To me, Tales from Rivelin sounds very much like a band trying to figure out what their sound is. It’s partly because several of the tracks (Maiden and Aurora Diabolus) were written before Northern Oak even existed, but it’s also in the somewhat messy structure of the songs. We weren’t very good at transitions back then! Nevertheless, I think it has a lo-fi charm, and there are definitely several tracks which capture the pastoral, English, medieval feel that we were going for. The recording and mixing of this album was a nightmare, and took me a lot of time- I didn’t have any real experience with mixing or producing anything with this number of tracks, and spent a lot of time wrestling with my limited equipment (and the technical limitations of my laptop!) to try and produce something that sounded halfway decent. While I might have trouble listening to Rivelin now (I can’t help but hear every single error in the performances and every single mixing mistake that I made), it was a fundamental part of both my development as a musician and our development as a band, so for that reason I can’t hate it too much! -Chris, 26th May 2014 Tracklisting:Sun Behind The Hill (4:00) info/lyrics |
 Tales from Rivelin |
Press for Tales From Rivelin
Zero Tolerance Magazine:Â “The first song on this full-length album could almost be early 70s prog/folk, but thereafter very English folk-metal takes centre stage. This is pleasant, well-played, not massively heavy music, at times with an epic Summoning-like touch, at others almost like 70s superstars Focus. Vocals vary between fey folkish singing and gruff Forefather like rawness and overall this is an accomplished very nicely produced piece of work. 5 out of 6.”
Terrorizer Magazine: “Northern Oak tick all the boxes in the neofolk metal sphere; stunning artwork, classical instruments and an in-sleeve quote from Rudyard Kipling. The group leans strongly on that all-important riff without pushing the flutes and pianos to one side. Think Elizabethan metal, think old English countryside, think a Ploughman`s lunch, think a walk through the woods dressed as a knight. 7/10.”
Planet-Loud.com: “Sheffield-dwelling sixsome Northern Oak forge sprawling blackened folk metal pieces rich in craft and coated with plenty instrumental ability. Pagan-inspired melodies break open shattering thrashy caves of black metal darkness, flute forays and keyboards casting a more magical warmth to a sound exploring the balance of spirituality and nature played out with an awful lot of heart and constant focus. Having gigged locally the band`s debut album “Tales From Rivelin” received high praise from the respected likes of Zero Tolerance and Terrorizer and the guys are currently working on new material whilst striving to spread the folk metal word with more live shows rumored to be on the cards. Keep alert, for Northern Oak are itching to cast their forward-thinking mystical metal upon your very ears…”
