Russia is home to some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world and also as many know, snow covered terrain as well. This is the driving force behind the project simply known as Wonders of Nature. There is an extensive archive of releases available but as of doing this, there is no real information behind this entity but the music speaks for itself as it has been classified by many as epic Celtic metal but personally, it’s just beautifully written, J.R.R. Tolkien inspired dark ambient music. Not saying that ambient, drone or atmospheric music itself can not be metal but this is one of those ones where a really awesome logo can catch someone off guard and they could end up disappointed that this is not the next Cruachan or something.
So there are a lot of layers to this release…A LOT of them as your mind will not be able to focus on just one instrument at a time. There are a lot of things happening here, not chaotically or out of time but in a very harmonious cacophony of balanced melodies. It is a bit hard to put into words so this is where the music does the talking. This is truly the soundtrack Lord of the Rings was needing as it is epic, it does send you into a far off, middle of the earth adventure but depending on who may be listening, it is instrumental and it is not what many would call metal as it is mostly synths and drums, no guitars nor vocals on this album.
The tracks that stand out on this album are The Saga of Middle-Earth and Rain as these really provide an auditory visual into this narrative that Wonder of Nature have provided. The is beauty, folky Celtic influence as well as finally the true soundtrack that The Lord of the Rings truly needed. If you are a fan of just being able to relax and have an album not needing to say a word but can tell a million stories behind it’s musical composition then Era is the album you may need in your collection. Again, not usually my cup of tea to review this kind of release but maybe the eye-catching logo did work since I obviously listened to this mesmerizing album in full and I’m sure you will too.
Overall Score: 8.0/10
Review by Neil Andersen
