Werwolf: Satanic Terror
Out 24th April on Dominance of Darkness
As a bare bones mixture of early Graveland and Celtic Frost via ‘Under a Funeral Moon’ offcuts one could do worse than inspecting this debut from Germany’s Werwolf. Through its very primitivism it projects strength and confidence, and from there a captivating spirit that almost compensates for the lack of originality and vigour in the riffcraft itself. Such austerity feels like a provocation in the current climate. Even artists reaching for a similar stylistic vintage can’t help but betray their superior musicianship and resources, something that invariably sets pastiche apart from authenticity. Here there is no such adornment. And as a result one is left with a release that stays true to an older ethos despite being materially almost indistinguishable from mere nostalgia. A supervenient and cinematic world of excitement and escapism emerges atop this most rudimentary display. This, despite the occasional lack of development as certain tracks seem to peter out without reaching a thorough conclusion. A minor fault in an otherwise immersive slab of unapologetically traditional black metal.
Wrang: Verwording
Out 24th April on Dominance of Darkness
Over excited melodic black metal fails to achieve a sense of contrast or balance in its quest to create an experience that is both tense yet catchy. The result is a gauche display of strained histrionics. Serviceable riffs abound, just as tight lyrical phrases stitch the hull of these pieces together. But Wrang seem insistent on maintaining a certain level of hysteria throughout without leaning too heavily into ambiguous or atonal territory. As a result they reach for a pop punk bounce as if to the supplement the more grandiose aspirations of the music with a degree of physicality. But the resulting liquid fails to distil down into distinctive solutions, resulting in a sickly stew of flamboyance and aimless enthusiasm seemingly without end. Emotive monotony is not compensated by any degree of restraint, any attempt to curate or expand from this place of specificity.
Eternal Dark: Cugetări
Out 25th April on Loud Rage Music
Typical of Romanian melodic death metal in its very atypicality. A melting pot of confident thrash riffs, Tampa era death metal, and gothic-cum-doom inflections lending all a theatrical sheen that would be hard to swallow in any other context. To native English speaking ears the richness of the vocal articulation adds a degree of finesse to the already richly realised material. In structure and delivery it behaves more like heavy metal in that it bears a closer resemblance to traditional song than it does to the landscaping of composition. Tracks follow lyrical contours, some taking ballad form, others more stirring and anthemic. But the riff palette is harvested from a broader range of metal traditions, here finding a particularly eccentric articulation. The final cut will be hard to swallow for fans bringing with them certain expectations, but the overall performance is carried through with a sincerity, skill, and detail that one can’t help but applaud the odd balance Eternal Dark have achieved on this release.
Hrob: Brána chladu
Out 27th April on Memento Mori/Night Terrors
Chasmic death/doom supplements the irredeemably drab mien of the modern genre with a degree of conditional brightness through open but minimal guitar leads reminiscent of diSEMBOWELMENT. Although Incantation stands as the other inevitable reference point across this music, the influence is suppressed, notable only in a handful of the faster link segments. Hrob keep a wary eye on melodicism, borrowing from the lighter end of the genre and leveraging this in contrast to the sparse, droning segments to create a modest but welcome degree of variety to unpack across this album. The production is somewhat raw, with very little reverb applied to the organic drum performance, instead gaining size and grandeur through a sense of emptiness, the guitar tone being serviceable in its refreshing clarity. Vocals fill in the literal gaps left in the texture of the album by the instrumentation, offering a cavernous guttural moan that fills out the mix where bass might be lacking. But the fact that the mix is anything but overwhelming is again a welcome reprieve within the current genre. Hrob allow us to peruse their not insignificant musical offering free of the overwrought, reverb drenched mixes and excessive layering that so many modern releases are subject to. A humble yet compelling sign of life in a stylistic horse I had very much dismissed as dead and beaten.
Candarian: Trepanacion
Out 27th April on Memento Mori/Me Saco Un Ojo
Meaty, primitive death metal achieves a simulation of authenticity but is openly able to breach the surface by renting out from their influences, most obviously Autopsy and Incantation. The result is equivalent to a herald. It signals the coming of greater things but does not embody them. We are reminded of a more substantive ancestry, and their ability to evoke it is undeniable, but in our reminiscence we are left craving the real thing. In this capacity it at least rises above the majority of self-identifying old school death metal, in that it refuses to lean too explicitly into the coattails of any one particular style or aesthetic. It at least speaks the same language as substantive death metal despite not being quite as conversant as the material it references. From this angle Candarian’s shortcomings could be generalised to a lot of above average death metal being produced at present, in that the majority of it furnishes us with promise whilst failing to bring things together into a completist statement. But this could also be a case of debut syndrome, a newer entity still attempting to rise above their antecedents in any meaningful way. Only a follow up will tell.
Hajduk: Хвърковата чета
Out 30th April on Amor Fati
Attempts a bouncy, lyrical take on black metal informed by folk and punk in equal measure and expressed through a raw black metal lens. The ensuing cacophony confirms suspicions that nine times out of ten, this formula reads better on paper. The narrative material this artist draws from does not translate well into a black metal setting, which remains undeveloped when not completely diluted by poorly articulated melodic lines. Emotively Hajduk remain something of a one trick pony, maintaining a humbly defiant melancholy throughout with no sense of contrast, conflict, or bite to the music. The intention may be distinct, but the results bring this release in line with the dead that was post metal, a static expression of empty sentiment, making a virtue of languishing in its own defeatism, mistaking the trite for the profound. There may be more motion here at the material level, but this fails to prop up what is an otherwise tedious affair to sit through.
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