Search - The Soil Bleeds Black :: May the Blood of Many a Valiant Knight Be Avenged

The first album from Sir Robin's minstrels?

S. Gustafson | New Albany, IN USA | 08/25/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"
. . . I thought they got eaten.

At any rate, from the title, the name of the band, ... I was expecting something somewhat less -varied- in mood than the record actually is. The title of the record is actually "May the blood of many a valiant knight be avenged," rather than "May the blood of Mary be," which suggests difficulties of a theological order.

This is a concept album based loosely around -Sir Gawain and the Green Knight-, the familiar Middle English poem by the Pearl Poet. But despite the dark and traditional solemnity of this relatively familiar tale about an invulnerable warrior and his challenge to return in a year to fight for the death, this record -also- features samples from Monty Python's Holy Grail movie (and a number of other films) and similar comic touches, as well as modern-day minstrelsy on traditional early music instruments. Folk and traditional Celtic themes appear from time to time in the original music.

The overall effect, though, is rather entertaining. I am reminded somewhat of Réné Clémemcic's freer and more humourous entries, like his version of the -Roman de Fauvel-. Early music purists will have no interest in this. Renaissance fairgoers and music fans who don't take themselves super-serious will, and Python fans may also get a kick out of it."