In short: These are poetic lines consisting of two half-lines with two stretched syllables each. The first stretched syllable of the second half-line (third stretched syllable of the entire line) alliterates with one or both of the stretched syllables in the first half-line. The last stretched syllable doesn’t alliterate with any of the other stretched syllables in the entire line nor the first one in the next line.

A fragment from our song “Minneschemering” (the alliterating parts are in bold):

Vervloek de vrijer,   vrees mijn toorn!
Aan kwel en kommer   klamp je vast.
Kruip in krochten   van kwijnend licht.
Bij nacht en ontij   oogst je doem.

>> Check out the full lyrics and the song itself at the bottom of this article! <<

Germanic verse was part of the oral tradition, but lost ground because of the increasing influence from Arabic culture and rise of the book. Mythical tales, spells, hymns on kings and so much more, found their expression through alliterative verse in the Germanic world.

We think Germanic verse in our mother tongue sounds very powerful against the background of all those bands who use end-rhyme in their lyrics. So, I thankfully and proudly use Germanic verse in my lyrics, to start with our latest album Heer. But my discovery of this poetic form of old was during the writing process of the album and I already wrote some lyrics with end-rhyme. Some I re-wrote in the form just discovered. In the end this album contains verses from both worlds.

Anyway, I swore myself to write only in Germanic verse from now on. Some new lyrics are done already – very cool. So, keep listening, ’cause Germanic verse is meant to be heard.

Mark,
on behalf of Alvenrad

* The only things I found were bands quoting per example from the Poetic Edda or Hildebrandslied. Or alliteration on Burzum’s “The Ways of Yore”, but Mr. Vikernes didn’t follow up the rules to make it real Germanic verse.

Minneschemering

Het bericht Germanic verse verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

Three bands from the Veluwe

Location: Apeldoorn, Podium Gigant

15:30 – 16:15 Mouflon
16:45 – 17:45 Alvenrad (cd release)
18:15 – 19:00 Dr. Duval

Entrance: €7,50

Combideals:
Entree + CD Alvenrad: €20,00
Entree + CD en T-shirt Alvenrad: €30,00

Large stock of Alvenrad merchandise.

Special beer

Moreover on the party you can buy Wilde Beer brewed by our keyboard wizard Jasper!* Extremely heavy brew (11%)! You will get the opportunity to have a taste at the bar (limited tasting-glasses available).

More beer from the Veluwe at the bar.

Noble food

For this occasion you can satiate your hunger with noble organic meat from Veluws Land.

Tyr’s Hand

Handmade products like rings, amuletes and tools made of wood, antler or bone found on the Veluwe.

*Only available in combination with other Alvenrad merchandise.

Het bericht Release party details verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

The story

I got to know a brewer, Richard of Puik Bieren, with a brewery very close to my home. He is very much into rock ’n’ roll and crazy ideas, so we got talking. We started making plans and then came the day the beast was to be brewed.

Richard made the recipe, guided by our taste preferences and ideas. The beer contains water from the Veluwe, dark malted barley, hops, yeast and juniper berry. The juniper has been an iconic shrub here on the Veluwe and was once numerous on the moorlands of the Veluwe where it scared many a nightly traveler with it’s ghostly form.

The making

The beer was brewed in the Puik Bieren brewery, assisted by yours truly. It is limited to only 96 bottles and will be exclusively available at Alvenrad gigs and only in combination with other Alvenrad merch, since its exclusive nature and its inseparable connection to the album.

Here are the “making of”-video and some pictures of the process:

The label was also designed by myself and is in line with the upcoming album Heer. It contains the wild boar, drawn by Benjamin König to match the Heer artwork of David Thiérrée. Moreover, Mark wrote a poem in Dutch to complete the label. Here it is:

The taste

The result is a very heavy, pitch black imperial stout beer with an alcohol percentage of 11%. The description of brewer Richard is “A beautiful, full-malty, heavy stout with a subtle touch of juniper berry and hops.”. Well, if that doesn’t tickle imagination…!

This fiery fluid is not for weak livers! It has an earthly taste an is almost syrupy in substance. An untamed wild beast for all you beer lovers!

Enjoy it and cheers!
Jasper
on behalf of Alvenrad

Het bericht Alvenrad beer: <em>Wilde Beer</em> verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

Ready for some skaldic hard rock? This lyric video lets the viewer float over the artwork and look deep into the galaxy through the boar, a symbol of fertility and strength. My partner in crime Jasper did all the editing and found a great way to portray the work of David Thiérrée and Benjamin König.

It was premiered by rock and metal magazine Deaf Forever here today.

Wish you a good evening,

Mark, on behalf of Alvenrad

Het bericht De Zonne-ever Official lyric video verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

For now check out the nothing short but amazing artwork by monsieur David Thiérrée:

Het bericht Release the 8th of December verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

You know, I am responsible for the concept of Heer. During discussions about the content, David proved himself a wise partner by transporting my feelings and ideas into one great vision, which turned out into the actual cover artwork.

I am, we are more than proud, to see our cover printed in his latest book. This book is entitled Owls, Trolls & Dead King’s Skulls and it deals with the artistic life of David Thiérrée, including a lot of his works. I enjoyed it a lot! Order the book by clicking on the flyer.

By the way, at the meanwhile Jasper finished the design of what should be the final product. We think the cover artwork will be treated in a good, respectful way. You should look forward to it, for the cover is a journey in itself.

Mark, on behalf of Alvenrad

Het bericht Owls, Trolls & Dead King’s Skulls verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

It is with great pleasure to say we got the final master in our hands. On the attached photo you see Markus Stock, Jasper and me, after we said some words of total satisfaction to each other considering the mix.
What happened? One evening in May we met Markus at his Klangschmiede Studio E and drank a beer together. The day after we would spend the whole day to discuss the final touch on the mixes he did for our upcoming album Heer.

What can we say? No modern fukkin’ metal in the first place. Ah, and dynamics: they’re back! Alvenrad returned with a kinda ’70s instrumentation and the mix is in line with that. Moreover it reminds me of the first speed metal productions back in the days.

Cheers to you, Markus! We’ll meet at the Prophecy Fest to drink another one!

Mark, on behalf of Alvenrad

Het bericht In Klangschmiede Studio E verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

Mark, on behalf of Alvenrad

P.S. Jasper published a short video of the recordings on Facebook.

Het bericht Recording <em>Heer</em>: acoustic guitars verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

We had the pleasure to record her parts in our own humble studio facility Luidheim, using no less then four microphones to capture all the aspects of this curious instrument. We can’t wait to share the results with you, later this year!

Jasper, on behalf of Alvenrad

Het bericht Recording <em>Heer</em>: nyckelharpa verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.

Mark, on behalf of Alvenrad

Het bericht Recording <em>Heer</em>: rhythm guitars verscheen eerst op Alvenrad.