Hammerheart Records has a very long tradition in releasing Heathen ambient music (remember Hagalaz’Runedance) and when we heard the album by Martyria, we decided to do a co-operation with the band and release this haunting recording on vinyl only.

With its great textural depth, sepulchral atmospheres, and exotic, richly detailed ritualistic passages, the stunning, self-titled debut from the Greek male/female duo Martyria
signifies the arrival of a vital new entry into the world of ritual/dark ambience. Running 41 minutes spread over five tracks, the album opens with “Logos”, a haunting piece track of gorgeous female keening, angelically drifting over a bed of primitive Byzantine rhythms and liturgical chants. It deftly sets the tone and lays the foundation for the proceeding pieces, which move from bottomless, subterranean drift and luminescent drones, to more sinister realms marked by slow, tribal percussion, resonating wood instrumentation, and elongated vocalizations.
All of it flows seamlessly, rising from tendrils of wood smoke and incense, rooted in spiritual and ceremonial darkness, and bound together by atavistic and organic means.

Check out the duo’s website here: www.martyria.org
The first video track can be checked here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z54ZR2m2bgE