Adventurous Valencian post rockers from DÛRGA hahve recently released their stunning debut LP “Venjança”, a work of style indebted to the richness and refinement of artists like VIVA BELGRADO, TOUNDRA, RUSSIAN CIRCLES and CASPIAN, and a pure delight in every way. “Venjança” (“Revenge”) circles around the concept of Mother Earth’s right to defense herself from the human avarice. The idealized beauty of the sonic sphere of ‘Venjança’ contrasts with the monstrous creatures and gloomy content of this opus, and reminds us why we need art in the first place. Each track of this offering has been designed to serve as a scream of the Earth in a different way and we’re literally thrilled to give you a comprehensive analysis of the full record.
The band commented on the concept for ‘Venjança’:
In Venjança (revenge in Catalan) we try to give voice to Mother Nature, who is claiming revenge against the humans, the responsible of its slow death, driven by greed and egoism.
To accomplish that, we have chosen five Yōkai (mythological Japanese character from popular tales). They embody the right of nature to defend their rights against humans.
Continued below..
Official track-by-track feature:
~ Words by DÛRGA ~
In this song, we let the Ocean express itself inspired by the legend of Amemasu, a whale-shaped Yōkai that lived in the Mashu lake. The story tells that one day, thousands of years ago, Amemasu swallowed a deer that was drinking in the lake in one piece. The deer started crying tears so pure that drilled the fish’s belly and killed it. Amemasu died and its enormous corpse blocked the waters, which began rising their levels. A bird watched the scene and flew to warn the villages nearby. The Ainu tribe ran uphill seeking shelter, but the rest of the villages didn’t trust the bird and started eating Amemasus’s flesh, not keeping respect to its body.
While they were eating it, the water was released and came rushing out, destroying all the villages downstream and all the people that didn’t respected Amemasu, god of the Waters. The Ainus (a folk that still exists) say that every time a tsunami hits Japan, it is Amemasu’s anger looking for revenge because of all the human crimes against all the sea creatures. Nowadays, the only village never affected by a tsunami is the one of the Ainus.
Lyrics:
With the calm of the morning mi anger becomes contempt,
You will soon feel my grandeur and my endless loneliness, very soon;
because you poured your aversion over me thinking your acts were innocuous
but no, your acts never were innocuous.
The emptiness in my life is a clear reflection of the emptiness in your hearts,
but I’m fulfilled with the memories and the dreams of the times.
And drop by drop I will reencounter with my brothers.
And from the most absolute calm I will rise with the strength of a Titan,
I strip you from any right over me.
Here where the sun sets you will never be welcome.
‘Hito’ (human), ‘dama’ (soul). They are small flames which actually are the souls of the recently deceased. It is said that they can be found where death is present, in the cemeteries and in the dark forests.
We wanted to represent those who dead and didn’t showed any respect to Amemasu (nowadays, all the human race) in the shape of a flame, in Hitodama. Before moving to the other side, before their eternal rest they are fire, they are penitent flames; a gasp that anybody will hear, because it’s too late to save the human race.
This song is a lullaby where we wish that the destruction of Earth was only a nightmare from which we can wake up. Therefore, we try to call Baku.
The Baku are kind beings that eat nightmares and evil spirits. They devour dreams and can be invoke by people suffering in a nightmare. If you call them, they will erase all these visions and only sweet dreams will remain. Kids in Japan still pray to Baku to protect them in their dreams.
Here we play a noisy song. We wake and realize that, unfortunately, it was not a dream.
The Oni were gods that caused disasters and they could adopt different shapes to trick and devour humans. That is the reason of the heavy sound and the chaos present in the track.
Now is the turn of the forests to express themselves and claim revenge. We have represented that with the concept of the Kodama. They are inhabitants of the forests, with a lovely appearance. They are peaceful and quiet, and the enjoy sharing knowledge and wisdom. But these spirits get angry with those not respecting the environment. If a tree is cut in an irresponsible way, one or more Kodama will look for revenge.
Lyrics:
Our veins are seas of sap,
our roots are tangled with the time,
we never measured profitability, but oxygen.There’s no axe or saw that could cut the air,
there’s no axe or saw that could cut the Green.Those who don’t respect what never possessed,
those who wield the weapon of the foolishness
will feel the rage of Kodama,
who jaded, will keep looking for revenge.Because they eyes slowly fade away
while gaze and unacceptable destiny.There’s no axe or saw that could cut the air,
there’s no axe or saw that could cut the Green.
There’s no axe or saw…
There’s no axe or saw…They don’t want to be paper to indoctrinate man,
they don’t want to be notes to buy pain.
Your greed is death, blindness and avidity,
so many fallen trees… I will avenge my forest.You damned fools, you sentence the rest,
expelling until there is no forest.
