“I wish to speak to you today about the tragedy of Europe.” So begins the speech sample from English PM Sir Winston Churchill that begins “Twelve Stars And An Azure Gown (An Anthem For Europa)” the fifth track on the new full length Atlantean Kodex LP, “The White Goddess (A Grammar Of Poetic Myth”. Indeed the entire concept of Germany’s Atlantean Kodex is expressly European in nature; from the classically influenced melodies, to the lyrics and concepts that inspire the towering, grandiose heaviness of the songs, on through the band’s use of German Romantic Caspar David Friedrich’s “Monk by the Sea” as cover art.
Continuing on from the band’s previous album, 2010’s near universally-praised “The Golden Bough”, Atlantean Kodex have built upon their sound to achieve an album like no other released in 2013. Many bands and labels lay claim to the word “epic” to describe a particular band’s sound but on “The White Goddess”, Atlantean Kodex become synonymous with the term in a way very bands ever manage. Drawing from traditional Heavy Metal, Doom and Norse Metal, “The White Goddess” achieves the bands strongest songwriting, lyrics, vocal performance and production yet, already nearly without equal on their previous LP. Unequivocally “The White Goddess” is the best pure Heavy Metal record of 2013.
20 Buck Spin is very proud to present this monument of True Heavy Metal, representing Atlantean Kodex’s first domestic release in North America; a collection of perhaps the most memorable songs ever released by the label.