Our EP "When Autumn Ends" has reached MetalTalk and this is what they've got to say about the album:
Blodwen may be Indonesian but they have bought completely into the Celtic and norse influences of their main influences and this album sounds like another European female fronted symphonic Metal band with no eastern flavour to it at all... 'When Autumn Ends' is competent and often enjoyable but they are in danger of drowning in an ocean of similar sounding bands and need to find more identity to make them stand out.
A very sound and understandable concern; we liked the honesty and straight-forwardness of the review and accept all kinds of feedback for a better and distinct sound in the future!
Being an Asian band, this is something that we would have to face every time we release an album; we will be compared with 'real' European bands in terms of musical identity. We have never pretended to be something we're not, we are just very much influenced by classical music (which happens to evolve historically in Europe) and since almost everyone in Blodwen was a music student (some even classically trained), the main influence cannot be avoided. Although traditional Indonesian music has not been a trait of Blodwen since it was first founded, but . . . who knows? :) if you're interested, read the whole review HERE.
Another point of view from Tribe4Mian webzine:
Being an Asian band, this is something that we would have to face every time we release an album; we will be compared with 'real' European bands in terms of musical identity. We have never pretended to be something we're not, we are just very much influenced by classical music (which happens to evolve historically in Europe) and since almost everyone in Blodwen was a music student (some even classically trained), the main influence cannot be avoided. Although traditional Indonesian music has not been a trait of Blodwen since it was first founded, but . . . who knows? :) if you're interested, read the whole review HERE.
Another point of view from Tribe4Mian webzine:
Blodwen means “mountain white flower” in welsh, a name that points the orientation of their music: atmospheric epic metal with opera vocals by Bernice Nikki. Along with the folk and medieval scales which gifted guitarist Alexander Lexy follows, you get a dark yet impressionable combo free of senseless brutality and pretentious melancholy. Take for instance, “Blue Romance” a wonderful ballad which kicks off from Clannad’s soundscapes and develops into a theatrical epic, or the closing track “Riverfall” a power but delicate metal theme.
Wow, Clannad . . . 'Nuff said. Read it HERE.
Meanwhile, we got an opportunity to be interviewed by Lead The Youth Zine - a webzine dedicated to female metal musicians in Indonesia. This is something our vocalist, Bernice, has a lot of passion about. Not being a feminist or anything, but being respected as a musician and not a sex object has been a struggle for all female metal musicians since day zero. Increasing awareness to the issue, especially in our own country, is a first step to modernize the views of fellow local metalheads. And this is something we are very excited to be a part of.
Meanwhile, we got an opportunity to be interviewed by Lead The Youth Zine - a webzine dedicated to female metal musicians in Indonesia. This is something our vocalist, Bernice, has a lot of passion about. Not being a feminist or anything, but being respected as a musician and not a sex object has been a struggle for all female metal musicians since day zero. Increasing awareness to the issue, especially in our own country, is a first step to modernize the views of fellow local metalheads. And this is something we are very excited to be a part of.
We also got the opportunity to be featured and interviewed in Lost in Chaos Magazine issue #24 - which is a milestone on its own right. This independent magazine had to stop its printing on issue #23, which was a few years back for several reasons. But now the magazine, fronted by Chief Editor Herry Sic, is back and ready to kick ass. You can order the physical copy in the website link and support the revival of the magazine! Make sure you check them out!
PS) The interviews are all in Indonesian. But hey, there's Google Translate, no?
PS) The interviews are all in Indonesian. But hey, there's Google Translate, no?