HOLYARROW 御矢 (CN) - Underwater sacred land 閩水沉山
Digisleeve CD / Lim.300
Digital：
https://pestproductions.bandcamp.com/album/underwater-sacred-land
Command, and in Awe – heed the heartbeat of all the mountains and rivers, O, how they have slumbered into a thousand seasons and their veils. Within the continuation of the Three Spirits, Sacred Words carve the path, the unyielding and eternal Dao. Like the ancestors who keep the flames of the rites, our souls stand firm – for to traverse the realm of ferocious blades and hellish fire is the trial of the truth – demons will be repelled, impurity will be cleansed, and now it’s your turn to sing the Words of the Heavens until your own fate is made manifest.
Moving a step backward from the historical war, Holyarrow returns to the rituals of Taoism and Southern Min folk religions in this latest EP. A highly conceptual release, 閩水沉山 is heavily influenced by the regional folk rites and their aesthetics: samples of ritual chanting can be found throughout the album’s two tracks, with the title track serving as an Epic Black Metal reinterpretation of the said rites, while the second track 烈洲淨壇 offering an ambient/dungeon synth that is firmly rooted in the Daoist philosophy, incorporating traditional instrumentation such as Guqin. It's a must-have for fans of Holyarrow’s entire discography.