"a polished standout album, a testament that the neofolk genre is still capable of seminal work." - Heathen Harvest, USA
"...a strong, well-produced album, which from my point of view is one of their best." - NonPop, Germany
"It's an uplifting and spirited recording fusing acoustic folk with a pop sheen that shines throughout Napoleonic Blues." - Compulsion, UK
"This album has an important collection of really catchy choruses...The result is stunning." - Mentenebre, Spain
Richard Leviathan, formerly of STRENGTH THROUGH JOY, has enjoyed a long creative affiliation with Douglas Pearce of Death In June, who released Strength Through Joy’s single “Dark Rose” and two albums in the mid 1990’s. Leviathan and Pearce collaborated on Death in June’s Kapo! and Scorpion Wind with Boyd Rice and John Murphy in 1996. Ostara has been Leviathan’s solo project since 2002 with six previous releases that have firmly established him in the Neofolk genre. "Evocative titles, intellectually stimulating poetry, strong melodies, a feel for language, smooth clear voices and a polished professional sound characterise the work of Ostara."
OSTARA - NAPOLEONIC BLUES LP
OSTARA - NAPOLEONIC BLUES CD
Label: SOLEILMOON
Release date: 31/01/017
Video Trailer
The Music of Richard Leviathan
Fantotal - DE, world
Tesco - DE, world
Rara Avis - Spain
Soleilmoon - USA
Clearspot - Benelux
Cold Spring - UK
Laterna - Bulgaria
HMV - Japan
Worldwide Distribution: choose a flag
The eight album, ‘Eclipse of the West’, is an uncompromising confrontation with the Zeitgeist, brimming from start to end with a sense of tragic urgency. Inspired by the Storm and Stress movement, singer songwriter, Richard Leviathan, weaves a barbed thread through the centuries, from the battle cry of the Norse god Wayland to the legacy of Mark Chapman, contemporary echoes of failed Utopias, mass Narcissism, the loss of love and the death of hope. This is an album for the times, a bleak yet stirring harbinger of a dark new decade.
Release date: (29th May, 2020)
• Solar Gold 180g 12" vinyl
• High quality, super-audiophile disc – German pressing!
• Sturdy cardboard sleeve
• Reverse board printed cover
• Inner sleeve printed in colour, and containing all song lyrics
• Inner sleeve made from special untreated paper
• Vinyl labels printed in colour
• The CD contains the studio album‘Eclipse Of The West’
• CD in slipcase
• Postcard, signed and individually inscribed.
• Hand-numbered by Richard Leviathan
• Personally signed by Richard Leviathan
• Strictly limited to 500 copies
Top Recommendation of the Month, Orkus Magazine, Germany
With its sumptuous artwork, this album is intelligent, well thought-out and, moreover, a thing of beauty. - Troy Southgate
The whole album flits between strum and spirited melodies often backed by massed accompaniments which could be lifted from a western soundtrack or from Scott Walker's solo work. - Compulsion, UK
È un ottimo ritorno per Ostara che conferma la classe di acuto cantautore apocalittico di Leviathan. L’album suona proprio come dovrebbe fare un disco folk-pop nel tempo del Kali Yuga. - Ondarock
Reviews
Shiny Beast - NE
Steelwork - France
Equilibrium - Portugal
CeDE - Swiss
Digital
Napoleonic Blues (2017)
Contact and Media
Intendiamoci gli episodi migliori come la coivolgente “Alchemy”, l’epica title-track, un vero e proprio nuovo anthem neo-folk, la “morriconiana” “El Enemigo” che sembra uscita da “Nada!”, la pastorale St John Of The Cross” e la “biblica” “Song Of Saul” testimoniano una buona ispirazione e una scrittura felice ben avvertibile lungo tutta la durata del disco - Ver Sacrum
Faszinierend ist der Kontrast zwischen den teils sonnig anmutenden Stimmungen und den doch eher melancholisch bis kämpferisch oder auch pessimistisch anmutenden Worten. All der Tragik dieser Welt wird hier mit Schönheit und Anmut begegnet, woraus sich etwas wirklich Großartiges, nämlich dieses faszinierende Gesamtkunstwerk entwickelt. - BodyStyler
Audioglobe - Italy
Out Now - Kingdom Gone vinyl
Kingdom Gone, Ostara‘s quintessential second album, has finally been released on limited edition marble or black vinyl. Remastered and beautifully presented with new artwork and lyrics, this compelling classic of the Neofolk genre features some of the duo’s most accomplished songs, including Bavaria, Overworld, Transsylvania, Kingdom Gone and The Hammer of Ages. Capturing the apocalyptic spirit of the early new millennium, this is an album that has stood the test of time, resonant with powerful melodies and lyrical symbolism which encapsulate the very best of Ostara.
Fantotal - Europa
Soleilmoon - USA
