Hidden Gems & Guilty Pleasures: Perchta (Austria)

Photos by Marcel Durach

Perchta (Atmospheric Black Metal, Austria)

Perchta is an Austrian atmospheric black metal music project founded 2017 in Tirol. Ritualistic sounds with influences from black and pagan metal are the foundation for atmospherically embedded lyrics presented in dialect, that deal with topics of Alpine nature, culture and myths. Rites of times long passed and impressions of craggy mountains are brought to life by folk instruments.

Origins:
Lady Perchta or Lady Percht is a mythic being that can be found in continental Germanic and Slavic mythology. It is assumed that she emerged out of the Germanic goddess Frigg through assimilation of Celtic influences. In middle Germany she corresponds most closely to “Frau Holle”. The name can be derived from the old German word “perhat”, which translates to bright or shiny and therefore means “the radiant”. Others suggest, that the name Perchta or Percht is of Celtic origin.

Taking its name from a pagan goddess revered among the people in the Upper German and Austrian Alps, Perchta from Tyrol, Austria, were founded in 2017 and channel the deity’s essence to keep alive regional traditions that have been trivialized over time to fit modern conveniences.

Known to walk among men from Christmas to Epiphany and thus symbolizing a time of transition, Perchta has many faces and guises, at once radiant beauty and wrinkled, old hag, both unforgiving punisher and nourishing guardian, haunting destroyer as well as rewarding creator. »Ufång«, the project’s first album, is just as multi-faceted, with the four key songs representing the elements of earth, wind, fire and water, entirely intoned in local vernacular.

In its epic scope, »Ufång« sounds like a tempest of tremolo guitars and ritualistic folk with a voice on top to pierce marrow and bone. Remarkably, Perchta is also a functional live formation, sporting extravagant light and stage properties made from driftwood between which the front woman will sermonize, face-painted in historical black garb with embroidered belt and cast-iron broom…

Perchta’s debut album »Ufång« was released in 2020 via Prophecy Productions as digipak CD, LP and 2CD artbook (48 pages, 18x18cm) with all lyrics, additional texts about the Perchta lore, poetry and photo material as well as two bonus tracks.

Band members:
Perchta – Songwriting, Lyrics, Vocals
Fabio D’Amore – Songwriting, Lyrics, Bass, Vocals, Keyboards, Programming, Production

https://perchta.tirol/
https://www.facebook.com/perchta.band/
https://www.instagram.com/perchta.band/
https://perchta-official.bandcamp.com/

For fans of Myrkur, Wolves In The Throne Room, Vermilia, Primordial, Fortíð, Ashtar, Empyrium

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well