Violet Cold - Empire of Love (2021)

It's good to see that Emin Guliyev and his Violet Cold released another album this year. Not only because his music has this quality assurance not many other projects do, but also because it's been very gloomy times in his country and around the world. So I couldn't leave out his Empire of Love that stands for everything I believe in as well.

Guliyev is based in Azerbaijan and earlier this year he was posting very alarming texts on his FB profile about the war and the situation within the "invading" (although it's obviously not so easy, the history of the Caucasus region is a mess) country. Even if he was not in danger directly, this kind of anarchic and pacifist approach to life is not appreciated during times like this. Not to mention the LGBTQ friendliness and feminism (I love the title of Shegnificant) he shows so explicitly on this album. It's especially good to listen to it.

Let's talk a bit about the music itself too. It's a continuation of what we know from his previous albums - the crazy combination of black metal's heaviness and extremely catchy pop's energy. It is best heard in the album's best track Pride with the electropop, computer-enhanced female vocals singing out the ridiculously catchy chorus and the metal screams balancing the darkness-fun ratio. As we also know it to be the case, the pace here is absolutely extreme, it is especially due to the black metal-like drums all over the place. But there's some new things (or at least not so ordinary for the project's music) as well, the intro in Cradle begins with some traditional folk music and Be Like Magic that includes some dark and dangerously sounding recitation (if not rapping).

Empire of Love costs whatever you want to pay.

Violet Cold - Noir Kid (2020) EN

Violet Cold - kOsmik (2019) EN

Violet Cold - Sommermorgen (2018) EN

Violet Cold - Anomie (2017) EN

Check: Pride 

Country: Azerbaijan

Genre: electropop metal

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Violet Cold - Noir Kid (2020) EN

There's was so many times that I wrote here about Emin Guliyev and his music child but also he released albums that deserved the highest attention as many times. It's no different this year as with his Noir Kid, the Azer artist is going to compete in all post-metal/blackgaze ranks.

This album is the continuation of the style the musician mastered over the years: the combination of really dark post-metal with colourful, very pop-esque and energetic electronics with elements of folk and other, less obvious genres. Obviously, one has to like it, but it gets perfectly into my taste It's something like hipster-metal coined by the Russians of Haze of Summer. Does it make this album hipster-blackgaze? Eclectic black metal? Everything fits.

There's so much going on in every track that it's difficult to point to one song or even a fragment that stands out. The whole album makes a broad sea of Guliyev's infinite ideas and his dark electronic fantasies.

Noir Kid costs 6.66 USD.

Violet Cold - kOsmik (2019) EN
Violet Cold - Sommermorgen (2018) EN
Violet Cold - Anomie (2017) EN

Check: Noir Kid

Country: Azerbaijan

Genre: electronically infused blackgaze

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Violet Cold - kOsmik (2019) EN

Whatever the Azeri artist touches, it turn gold. Violet Cold, or rather Emin Guliyev, a year ago released an epic, three-albums work called Sommermorgen and now surprises again with, at least as good, new album kOsmik. 

While the triptych Sommermorgen was a place to experiment for Guliyev, now he's back to what he's mainly known for: deafening guitars and space atmosphere synths and samples that get to the audience's ears in the form of thick, powerful wave. The blackgaze atmosphere is only enriched with the artist's angry growls.

But still, there are some unique characteristics to be found in Violet Cold's new music. This time it's folk-pop singing filtered with a lot of electronic effects They show up from the very first track but reach their pinacle in the album's best one, filled with expression and power, title kOsmik.

kOsmik costs 6.66 USD.

Check: kOsmik 

Country: Azerbaijan

Genre: Blackgaze

Violet Cold - Anomie (2017) EN

Violet Cold - Sommermorgen (2018) EN

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Violet Cold - Sommermorgen (2018) EN

It's hard to wrap your head around the new work by the Azeri artist Emin Guliyev or Violet Cold. One of my favourite music projects has made a turn since the last time it appeared on this blog with the blackgazing "Anomie" - this time it is the whole spectre of electronic music with elements of post-rock, folk, ambient, etc, and everything is formed into a trilogy called "Sommermorgen".

The first part, entitled "Innocence", greets us with cheerful chirping of birds which is soon overtaken by the massive drums and then by the airy electronic backgrounds. It comes back from time to time like the innocence's leit-motif. The overall atmosphere of the album fits here, even when it gets really loud, as in "Ein Langer Weg", it is more euphoric than melancholic. The job is done by brilliant synth backgrounds as lively as spring's first green. Even when it comes to a sad, folk instruments sound, it is clear that it's only an introduction to another take-off.

Euphoria and energy rule also the second album. It is devoted to joy and accordingly, there is both the lively wall of sound in "Kopfkino", very danceable rhythm in "Time to Tango" and in "Schöne Dummheit" and everything up to the end.. It is quite a literal metaphor of those endorphin releasing moments as dance or falling in love.

But those are known to end and there is always regret for the finished happiness. So the third album is about melancholy and it is the one, most fans of Violet Cold should find familiar. There are clearer, almost metal guitars, especially in the beautiful "Ein Hauch Von Ewigkeit" but still, there's some of the atosphere from the first two parts. Like a memory of when you were happy.. 

Each of the three parts cost 6 USD.

Violet Cold - Anomie (2017) EN

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Zommm - Reality Is An Illusion (2018) EN

Two-person experimental project called Zommm shows us that in Azerbaijan, apart from the king of an alternative noise - Violet Cold - there are also serious candidades for succession. Bedcause the new album by the duo Farid Mayilov - Ramil Bayramov is filled with awesome post-metal in a modern, a bit electronic and a bit post-rock from.

The huge load of energy that Zommm's music carries is seen from the very first track. "Lights" is full of bright keys and up-lifting atmosphere and and aggressive drums forshadowing what is going to come next. Because it is just an intro, the real music conflagration comes with the slowly unveiling "The Shining of the Solar Moon". Here the guitars finally rach the noise optimum while accompnying the emotion-filled metal vocal. And it lasts with some pauses until the closing, very moody track "Dust".

And the Azeris' music is smoothed by subtle electronics without harassing our ears with raw riffs. In this aspect, it reminds me of the last year's debut by Haze of Summer. And since it was my personal post-metal album of the year then you can guess the rest.

Reality Is An Illusion" costs 5 USD.

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Violet Cold - Anomie (2017) EN

Azerbaijan-based Violet Cold is a one man metal project by Emin Gulyev of Baku, that already has a dedicated fan base all over the world. And no wonder. The new album proves Violet Cold to make top class metal music that is both full of emotions, epic and crushing into pieces.

There's no place for long introductions on the album - "Anomie" the track attacks with concentrated guitar sounds from the very first seconds. But these are not nerve wrecking, raw sounds but polished, lavish, almost symphonic sounds. But this is not the end - it is accompanied by oriental - Arab? Persian? Azeri? - melodies adding a whole lot of uncanniness to the whole thing. This complex music is also spiced with a solid dose of electronics and gives you a good flow for almost an hour.

Violet Cold is metal music that is a pleasure to listen to. I'm not sure if it makes sense as the tracks are meant to be depressive and brutal - anomie from the title alone means nothing nice, it's the feeling of uncertainty and lack of sense within the society. But for me it is still a source of pleasure.

"Anomie" costs 6 USD.

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