Ten years have passed since the last studio album by legendary veteran Latvian pagan metal band Skyforger, but, in 2025, the group released their latest album – Teikas.

Skyforger perform in an extreme metal style, with heavily distorted guitars, rapid fire pounding drums and screamed or growled vocals. Still, the group has always had a strong melodic aspect to their music, and have included traditional Latvian instruments like the kokle and the stabule in their songs.

The group also find inspiration in Latvian history and legends, and many of their albums have been based on such legends, for example, 2010’s Kurbads, about the legendary powerful warrior who was the son of a mare. The group have also explored the stories of other Baltic nations, such as the ancient Prussians on 2015’s Senprūsija.  Though most of Skyforger’s recordings are of an aggressive and relentless style, the group also does occasionally perform in a traditional Latvian folk style, such as on 2003’s Zobena dziesma.

The thunderous guitars of ‘Rex Semigalliae’ present the story of the sword of Viestards, the renowned leader of the Semigallians (Zemgalieši). The sword, found in the ruins of the demolished castle of Tērvete, supposedly was cursed, and caused a destructive fire in the castle of Casimir Kettler, a baron in the Duchy of Courland.

The slower, but no less powerful ‘Svētbrizs’, tells of a sacred grove (a dense forest believed by pagans to have mystical powers), and one of these groves remains today near the town of Kuldīga in Kurzeme.

Besides telling of legends, Skyforger also honor the contribution of Latvians throughout history in ‘Vecie latvieši’ (or ‘old time Latvians’), a reverent song about the many older Latvians that having lived history, continue to pass down legends and stories of what Latvia was like in previous decades to younger generations, ensuring that these stories are not forgotten.

Those who purchase the physical CD will find more information about the songs in the booklet. Though the lyrics are not included, there are detailed notes on the legends and historical events that inspired each song, which certainly helps appreciate the legends and stories behind the songs. It also further displays the reverence Skyforger have for their Latvian heritage and history.

Skyforger continue to actively perform throughout the world, and are planning a European tour in February of 2026, with stops in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

For three decades now (Skyforger were founded in 1995), the group has, with their aggressive music and lyrics steeped in legends and history, firmly established themselves as the premiere Latvian heavy metal ensemble. Though a long ten years passed between albums, Teikas has been worth the wait and is one of their most consistent and satisfying releases.

For further information, please visit the Skyforger website.

Teikas

Skyforger

Thunderforge Records TFR 006, 2025

Track listing:

1. Mālpils purvs

2. Dieva Suns

3. Spēlmanis

4. Spīgana

5. Mājas kungs

6. Rex Semigalliae

7. Svētbirzs

8. Zilaiskalns

9. Velnakmens

10. Lietuvēns

11. Alšvangas dūdas

12. Pelīte

13. Vecie latvieši

The Riga Project Choir (Rīgas projektu koris) is a relatively new choir in Latvia, having been founded in 2018. In its short period of existence, the choir has distinguished itself as one of the premiere amateur choirs in Latvia, and has confirmed their skill in interpreting and performing a varied and demanding modern choral repertoire. The founder and artistic director of the choir is American conductor Christopher Walsh Sinka.

Many of the singers in the choir have sung in other well known, prestigious Latvian amateur choirs, and they have brought their experiences and talents to the Riga Project Choir. As its name would indicate, the work of the choir focuses on specific ‘projects’ and concert programs. As per their website, just a few of the projects include performing programs like Laura Jēkabsone’s Folk Passion, Anton Bruckner’s Mass in E Minor, as well as programs that highlighted recent compositions, such as ‘Sumptuous Planet’ (Grezna planēta), which featured the Latvian premieres of eight choral works.

One of their recent projects, and the project that inspired the recording of their first album, was ‘Song of songs’ (Augstā dziesma), which was a series of concerts in 2023 that included choral works both modern and ancient that were inspired by the Old Testament book, also known as ‘The Song of Solomon’. All of the newer choral works in the program were by women Latvian composers (six of which were composed specifically for the choir), and the choir recorded those and released the album Already Bloomed (Jau izplaukuši) via the Latvian national record label Skani in 2025.

The album displays a dramatic and emotional variety in the nine recorded works, with themes of love and passion inspired by the Biblical text. Ruta Paidere’s ‘Jau izplaukuši’ depicts the meeting of lovers in a nut tree grove. The work, often unsettling and uneasy, features a soprano and bass duet (performed by Agnese Pauniņa and Jānis Petrovskis) while the choir provides an atmospheric and ethereal backdrop for the work.

 Irīna Mihailovska’s ‘Viņa kreisā roka guļ zem manas galvas’ stands out with its layered harmonies, and display’s the choir’s vocal skills and clarity, and brings forth the passion of the text, where a woman does not want her lover to awake.

Evija Skuķe’s ‘Naraudavu’ is her arrangement of a Latgalian funeral folk song and combines elements of the traditional Latgalian singing style (described as ‘belting’ in the CD booklet) with an Orthodox-like performance by the choir. The powerful duet of sopranos Guna Rasa and Alise Bērziņa-Rozenbaha is supplemented by the rich and melodic sound of the choir.

‘Kā lilija starp ērkšķiem’ by Līva Blūma begins with a Gregorian like performance in the male voices, which is then joined by the women’s voices, creating a kind of dialogue between the two. The song, about the meeting of two lovers in a wine cellar, grows to a powerful climax, and concludes with subdued and emotionally rich solos by alto Madara Ambrēna and soprano Elizabete Štoma.

The poetry of Latvian poet Kārlis Skalbe provides the text for Lauma Kazaka’s ‘No saknes zieds uz augšu veras’ and the choir creates a vivid musical vision of Skalbe’s metaphor of love being the roots of a flower. The tender and resplendent voices and harmonies of the choir create a beatific and joyful performance.

Gundega Šmite has long been one of the leading women composers in Latvia, and her contribution to this collection ‘Augstā dziesma’ (Song of Solomon) adroitly weaves together various voices and vocal melodies to create a striking and ardent work about a woman’s description of her lover.

In their relatively brief period of existence, the Riga Project Choir has confirmed themselves as one of Latvia’s premiere choirs. Though ostensibly an amateur choir, their technical and interpretive skills are enough to rival other professional choirs. Under the guidance of founder and artistic director Christopher Walsh Sinka, the choir has made it one of their main goals to raise awareness of modern choir compositions, especially by Latvian composers. Already Bloomed, with its wide diversity of compositions by women composers, is an exceptionally convincing debut recording – not only does it reveal the many different facets of Latvian choir music, but also the Riga Project Choir’s ascendance to being a leading Latvian choir.

For further information, please visit the Latvian Project Choir website and the Skani website.

Already Bloomed

Riga Project Choir

LMIC/SKANi 172, 2025

Track listing:

1. Ruta Paidere – Jau izplaukuši
2. Irīna Mihailovska – Viņa kreisā roka guļ zem manas galvas
3. Evija Skuķe – Naraudavu
4. Līva Blūma – Kā lilija starp ērkšķiem
5. Evija Skuķe – viņu
6. Lauma Kazaka – No saknes zieds uz augšu veras
7. Līva Blūma – Laika dziesma
8. Gundega Šmite – Augstā dziesma
9. Lauma Kazaka – Tu esi skaista