It’s never easy to get going again at the start of a new year, especially when it comes to writing about music. There’s not much to be had, to be honest, and a lot of what’s out there right now is hit and miss stuff that seems positioned for burial. But not all of it is, and over the next week and a half, we’re going to look at some of the year’s initial offerings that just might interest you if you’re itching to get moving with 2013 metal.

Today we visit with Nordic project Wallachia, long a solo project of Lars Stavdal (who you may also know from Eternal Dementia), who surrounds himself with a team of musicians to help him realize his ambitious vision. And he has a lot on his mind, and a ton to accomplish, as one could ascertain from listening to Wallachia’s music. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what this is, though there are plenty of metallic elements that are obvious from even a cursory listen. You have some symphonic black metal, some Euro-style folk, and some melodic death metal not dissimilar to the early days of In Flames, but none of that sums up this band and their third album “Shunya.” It’s better to take those initial touch points and investigate on your own.

The very reliable Debemur Morti Productions is responsible for releasing this record, and if you’re in Europe, you may already have your mitts on this disc. As for we Americans, we’re just now getting to experience “Shunya,” and it’s been an eye opener. That’s mostly because you can’t allow yourself to take your eye off the ball even for a moment, because before you know it, things shift violently into another direction. One could say sometimes the music seems to lack focus in exchange for keeping things surprising, and I wouldn’t argue, but that doesn’t derail the record by any means. It’s still perfectly interesting and refuses to rest on its laurels, but it is sometimes a little difficult to keep track of everything going on.

Stavdal handles the guitars and vocals on “Shunya,” and he’s joined by a capable cast of musicians who breathe life into his compositions. Opener “Dual Nothingness” begins with a melodic blast, folding in death, black metal, walls of synth, and some folk flourishes, giving a newcomer to the band a good idea of the journey ahead. “In Excelsis Ego” has blasts and more waves of synth, and this is where they sound the most influenced by the early Scandinavian death metal bands. “Ksatriya” has a goth rock feel to it, eventually more folk colors, and some creaky clean vocals as Stavdal lets sorrow and loss wash over him, recalling “when my heart turned into a burial ground.” “Enlightened By Deception” rips the record back open again, but there also is more clean singing on this song mixed in with the shrieking.

“Hypotheist” is an example of one of the songs where there’s a hell of a lot going on, and sometimes it robs the song of personality. There are keys, then some string sections, vocals that come off like chants, then a rush at the finish. It feels like parts of three songs mooshed together in 6:20. “Nostalgia Among the Ruins of Common Sense” brings folk back into the picture and leans on this style most heavily of all the songs. “Harbinger of Vaccumanity” is a clever title, no doubt, but again, there’s just so much going on that it’s hard to get comfortable with any parts of the song, It’s not bad. It’s just really involved. “Emotional Ground Zero” brings things back around again, with nice bits of crunch, Euro-style melodies, growling here and there, and a renewed sense of purpose on this closing epic.

Wallachia certainly is an interesting project, and you definitely will not be bored listening to “Shunya.” There’s no time to rest. It would be nice if the songs were a little more focused and to the point, but that might just be my tastes. There certainly are bits for fans of black metal and death metal, a few tastes for prog fans, and certainly enough to please the sun-baked Wacken crowd. If you fall into any of those categories, Wallachia might have some value for you.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/wallachiaband

To buy the album, go here: http://www.amazon.com/Shunya-Wallachia/dp/B009GWHSF8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1357179338&sr=8-2&keywords=wallachia

For more on the band, go here: http://www.debemur-morti.com/