"Stormy days forge the will,
hard times break steel,
terrible hours harden,
only the time is fading away!" ('Lightkeeper')

Ukrainian Progressive Extreme Metal ensemble WAIDELOTTE present the full album stream of their inaugural release, "Celestial Shrine". This impassioned and addictive debut balances violent riffing, driving rhythms, fluid basslines and raging vocals with a poignant sense of melancholy via exultant rural harmonies and the use of native instruments including the duduk, bandura, tsymbaly and hurdy-gurdy.

Listen here:

"Celestial Shrine" emerged amidst the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine. WAIDELOTTE's use of folklore elements serves as an emotional homage to the locales the band members hold dear. Main composer Zlat narrates:

"I'm a pure metalhead but also a music pervert, haha! When it comes to traditional Folk music – something rings inside me, I have goosebumps. So, for me, if it's any kind of Metal I write, I also want to put the DNA of my ancestors in it. I want to create that extra vibe which you will not find in other bands. Ukrainian culture has around 500,000 folk songs, among which 15,000 of them are officially in UNESCO Heritage, and I'm not even mentioning all these restrictions we have faced on our national musical instruments, mostly by the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union (especially during the 30s), so that's why we put a lot of bandura, lyra (hurdy-gurdy), tsymbaly, ethnic singing and other stuff on our album. Sometimes, if you lose your home, you rather keep your identity, support your culture, and make it alive. The culture creates a home, and we need to save it whenever we go."

Vocalist Andrii adds:

""Home is where the heart is." For me, it's first of all Kherson and the region around the city. I grew up there. I traveled a lot across the region, discovering its beautiful sites: boundless fields, endless seashores, mighty steppes – the sacred lands of ancient nomad tribes, the biggest European artificial forest, mesmerizing salt lakes, the biggest island in the Black Sea, and, of course, the Dnipro reedbed with its lakes and small rivers. All these places became my Home. The entire country feels like home, and Odesa also evokes a similar feeling, but Kherson is the Home which is meant by the capital letter. I was devastated when Russians occupied the region. I was even more devastated when I understood that all my sacred places are covered with mines, and I won't be able to visit them long after the de-occupation. My grief reached new heights when Russians blew up the Nova Kakhovka dam, destroying multiple natural habitats and lots of houses (the one that belongs to my parents was also damaged by the flood).

A few days after the explosion, I was sitting by the seaside observing islands of reeds, roofs, trees, and tons of garbage drifting along the coast. These were small parts of my Home: raped, devastated, and flooded into the sea. Luckily, I understood, what the Home meant for me before the war started, and spent lots of time, exploring it. The war, however, showed me how much I love it. Although Russians continue shelling my native city daily and use the region's sacred places as training grounds for their army, I believe that one day I'll be able to return to my Home. It will never be the same, but it will be safe and clear from the occupiers and their mines, shells, and other deadly pieces of equipment."

Due for release March 29th, WAIDELOTTE's debut album "Celestial Shrine" will be available on CD, vinyl and digital formats. The launch is accompanied by a specially designed t-shirt, with pre-orders available through our EU, US (no merch) and Bandcamp shops.