Trüciciel – Promo MMXXIII [Poland, Black / Punk] (2023)

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Self Released | 2-21-23

I am grateful for this release using the naming convention of Roman Numerals being including int he pantheon of underground metal adopting the very familiar naming sequence. Similar to conceptual and minimal art using “Untitled” there is something comforting about a promo being named after the year. Trüciciel is from Poland and the demo/promo for 2023 is actually the second release of their debut EP Syf, groby i demony in 2020. Promo MMXXIII feels like more of a proper introduction. While only two tracks each of the selections hits with accuracy and the album art is simple and effective. This is a perfect place to start with any black metal that has the sound of a clanking hammer buried somewhere in its music.

Sepulchral Cult – Immurement, Spirits and Graveyard Chants [Poland, Death] (2021)

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Putrid Cult | 2-8-21

Yes. This is where I want to be today. I do not car how many times the riff rotten death metal with illegible logo and monochrome cover is done, I will probably listen to it. This is not to take away from the weight of Sepulchral Cult’s debut rather to put up front I will listen to this album and others like it until the end of eternity. Immurement, Spirits and Graveyard Chants is the debut from this Polish outfit which follows a 2020 demo which is surprising I missed given I was doing nothing else last year aside from listening to death metal demos. My surprise and pleasure at Immurement, Spirits and Graveyard Chants’ and its plunge into the crypt which is filled with ghouls that bear you ill will. Prepare thyself to be torn asunder.

Deathevn – Deathevn [Poland, Black] (2020)

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Self Released | 9-20-20

This is a striking and exhilarating demo from a new Polish band that I most certainly shared to make a joke regarding the name. Deathevn is the work of Warped Blasphemer who also lends his talents to Dagorath, Nurt Ognia, and Xarzebaal. Detheven was said to be created in three days and the immediacy of it is apart of a network of standoffish atmosphere that makes me feel bad for mentioning their name and similarities to popular post black metal bands. Detheven doesn’t give a shit about my jokes and this 22 minute demo is a crawl against the fiery floors of damnation. It is unrelenting, without compromise, and above all else not in the mood for humor.

Eternal Rot – Putridarium [UK / Poland, Doom / Death] (2020)

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Self Released | 7-6-20

Let the filth rain. If the stark black and white near cartoon cover was not enough indication, Eternal Rot’s second release is going to be akin to reading a horror comic with black and white gore strewn among its pages. Eternal Rot is a cross country collaboration between Polish and English musicians who have found a common language if filthy riffs. Putridarium is the second full length from this act even though their full lengths are only a few long tracks. There is no time down here in the torture chamber of eternity.

Execration Chamber – White Flames Fading in Spectral Aura [Poland, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Forgotten Castle Records | 4-28-20

Dungeon synth is dark and sometimes I forget where the genre came from. Dungeon synth in 2020 is whatever the creator wants it to be with an array of styles from the light and airy to the dark and slightly damp. Execration Chamber pays tribute t the spirits of old with a release of plodding dungeon crawlers with hints of majesty. If the spectral cover was not enough indication, Execration Chamber is going to be filled with ghosts, grief, and the memories of a past long gone.

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Mental Casket – Demo 2019 [Poland, Death] (2019)

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Self Released | 6-11-19

With a name like Mental Casket, one is going to except a certain level of grime that hopefully covers a coffin in a basement. This is it. It is all here. With a dedication to Florida style death and less of a concern for actually cropping their cover, the debut demo from Mental Casket comes just as you expected and always wanted. Though the production is lacking as per the style, the strength of Mental Casket rests in the bands ability to write riffs that stalk through the night and animate these corpses that are strewn upon the ground.

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Sanity Control – Demo 2019 [Poland, Thrash] (2019)

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Self Released | 2-2-19

I believe I have made my opinions on thrash known and its troublesome history past 1990. I do not think this demo from Poland is going to change any grand designs for thrash and its current history nor is it going to be the linchpin in reestablishing the genre into the underground. What Sanity Control could be, however, is fun for the listener and a wild ride with a classic that sound that cares less about throwing back or establishing a contemporary identity and wants to drink cheap alcohol out of a paper bag in a place without central heat. Thrash works at its best when not concerned with their position in the overall metal cultural totem pole. Sanity Control is honest to goodness dirtballs who only care about playing fast and fun. Lets fucking do this.

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Kwestia Kwasu – Kwas Topi Czas [Poland, Black / Experimental] (2018)

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Cirsium Kollektivet | 2-8-17

I feel the best way to start this review is to reiterate the description from the label and their confusion and excitement is all I need “Here we are…, I don’t even know how to describe the music of these sociophobic polish junkies. Imagine a underproduced blend of blackened ’70’s Punk and dirty Ska with occasional sprinkling of noise or at least something which’s only purpose is to confuse your dull mind… ” If that short description didn’t capture your imagination, then you and I are on different life paths.

Kwestia Kwasu, for all their bizarre antics, is a competent and cohesive band. Their collective vision pushes the music into the realm where experimental music should always aim. Being weird for the sake of being weird does not guarantee success. Challenging oneself to make music which lies on the outside of orthodoxy which triggers confused emotions and even more troubled mental images and being successful is worthy of merit. Kwas Topi Czas excels as an exercise in depravity with its sonic landscape a blistering wasteland of shooting alleys, punk basements, and haunted polka bars.

I was struggling to actually fnd the “experimetnal” tag since I never really use it to describe heavy metal. Though the tag of “avant” is sometimes use, Kwestia Kwasu seems uncomfortable even with that description. There seems to be little quest for art in the realm of Kwas Topi Czas and more of a primal embrace of weirdness. Experimental seems more feral in its description at least that is what I hope to use to describe music that is near indescribable.

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Cultum Interitum – Sorgspell [Poland, Black] (2017)

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Self Released | 12-19-17

Sorgspell is an ambitious demo from a band that seems to have everything checked and ready to go. This is not uncommon though some bands choose to enter causally with a debut demo. For a debut demo released in the twilight of 2017, Cultum Interitum is ready to go when everyone else is going to sleep.

Sorgspell is a decent display of mid-fi black metal that has great vocals and sobering melodies which are draped over its body like funeral shrouds. Songs like “Agony” show a band that is playing above a ate December demo with music that is fitting for a full length. I am not complaining about the demo quality as I love hearing a variety of sounds at the starting level. Aside from the placeholder Dore album art and the placeholder old english font and the placeholder placement of the name and album title, Cultum Interitum seems like the first one up and ready to start on 2018.

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Barshasketh / Outre – Sein / Zeit [New Zealand / Poland, Black] (2017)

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Third Eye Temple | 12-18-17

Before beginning, I want to acknowledge the cover art/layout for this split as being one of the coolest covers of the year. Though I am confused who did the cover since the Metal Archives has the personal sort of mixed up, the artwork looks similar to Fenomeno Design which did Barshasketh’s 2015 album. I know someone is responsible and it fits aesthetically with this split. Even if this is just a rearrangement of classical artwork, the colors and layout are phenomenal and is something I want on all covers of metal albums.

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