The Post-Folk-Metal band Baradj comes from Kazan (Tatarstan, Russia). ‘D I V L A R‘ is their second full-length album and so far they act independently. This album really drew my attention, because it is a particularly good instrumental album, and also because it offered me a cultural aspect I wasn’t aware of.
The truth is that more and more one comes across various ethnic/folk sounds which emerge in standard music genres. In this case, Baradj claim to represent “Bulgar Folk Metal (Tatar ethnic metal)”. To be honest, I am not familiar with the specific sound, but I really liked ‘D I V L A R‘. It is an instrumental album, which I would characterize as ambient/post-rock experimental. It comprises 7 tracks and can be considered widely accessible to virtually anyone, regardless of their taste in music. The ambient atmosphere, along with a touch of psychedelic rock, provides a pleasant listening.
According to the band, ‘D I V L A R‘ in the Tatar language means monster or spirit, taken from myths and legends. The album though, gives the feeling of the fantastic and the way the imagination travels as one hears these stories, rather than the frightening feeling one gets when confronted by the word “monster”.
Mary Kalaitzidou