Heavy Maytal- Savage Master/ Mystic Storm : "The Power / Wandering Time"

 

This split mini-album from these two bands is set firmly in the days of yesteryear. Savage Master is no stranger to us here, as I really enjoyed the last album, "Dark & Dangerous," that found them moving in a darker direction, but it will be my first time checking out Mystic Storm. Savage Master's first track is more anchored in rock n roll and high on high energy. "The Last Kiss" is similarly paced, though with a marginally darker mood. There are some more deliberate passages. 'The Power finds them locked in a more midtempo headbanging chug that is not unlike Accept or the Scorpions. The pace picks up on the chorus. The songs are all very compactly arranged; they do not break any new ground, though they might lean in a more rock direction. 

Russian band Mystic Storm starts off the first of their three songs with spooky ambiance before, going into 80s worshipping proto thrash lead by what might be considering King Diamond like  falsetto wailing if it was not coming from a woman which makes it a blended register soprano jump, since it's easier for a woman's vocal chords to flip over into this . I like the melodic guitar passages injected in their. I might actually like them better than what Savage Master was doing as it's darker in a more Mercyful Fate direction. The title track to their contributions has a more deliberate menace,. It does slowly build into more of a gallop the time the vocals come in. I am also picking up an old Scorpions influence. 

The last song from these guys "Into the Abyss" has a more Maiden like harmony guitar run, with a very 80s palm muted riff driving the verses. The chorus being darker and more melodic. The melodies she uses a more darkly powerful than what we heard from the more rock approach Savage Master used. It is kinda of weird to rate an album like this but the best way to think of it is that I would give Savage Master's songs a 9as they were a well composed representation of what they do as a band, even though it's a snap shot of them moving in a more rock direction, they did this in a manner that is true to who they are. With that said Mystic Storm's three songs would get a 9.5 as they made we want to search out their other music and dive deeper into who they are. This drops on  Shadow Kingdom June 24th. 

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Slaughter to Prevail : "Grizzly"

 

This is the third album from the Russian band who ironically fled to Orlando, due to the war, in which they seem to not support slaughtering to prevail. They find themselves sonically somewhere between metalcore and nu-metal with the sample-heavy production on this album. The kick off a more nu-metal direction with the Slipknot bounce of "Russian Grizzly in America", which makes sense after I initially heard of these guys when researching bands riding the resurgence of nu-metal a few years ago. Their front man, Alex Terrible, has succeeded in making himself into a personality larger than his actual band. 

Speaking of personalities, Ronnie Radke joins them for "Imdead" and his singing makes things more Slipknotty by providing the vocal hook. "Babayka" has a more varied staccato groove, and I like the atmospheric touches, while some people might complain this takes the brutality from the foundation of the genre, it's needed to keep things from being one-dimensional. "Viking" is a little more along the just keep it a brutal beat down lines. Thus, does not make it as memorable as the first four songs. "Koschei" has a more industrial mood to it.

 "Song 3" was written with Baby Metal, and it is what it might sound like if a Labubu made music. "Lift That Shit" is for all the powerlifting metal TikTok, The drummer proves that he loves Slipknot, and the vocal pattern helps to confirm this. I would still be pretty stoked if it played in the gym, "Behelit" works off a thick crunching groove. The orchestral synths help it fall into place. But the willingness to use melody alone does not make a song "Rodina" might sound big, but it does not hook me in. It feels like an over-dramatic Rammstein power ballad. 

"Conflict" finds them a little too chaotic and heavy for their own good, though I like the effects on the vocals. "Kid of Darkness" reminds me of "Roots" era Sepultura, but with bigger production. "1984" is not a David Bowie cover, but an ode to the war in their homeland they ran from, it has more heart to it than pallning with the raw arrangement that is explosive, but sounds like demon-possessed Limp Bizkit otherwise. I will give this album a 9, as even with its flaws, the sum of its parts proves to be a step forward for the band that should find them moving into headliner status for good. 

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Black Metal History Month- Grima : "Nightside"

 

This Russian band's 2021 album "Rotten Garden" ended up in the top 10 Black Metal albums for that year, so expectations are high for them to either meet or exceed their previous success. The first song feels like there is more overt aggression coming from them than I remember from their last album.  There is almost a more Dissection-like layering to the guitar here. The vocals are more anguished with the black metal shriek doubled by a lower death metal growl.  The production is great, it's a stellar mix with nothing buried. For some black metal purists, this might be too much of a sell-out, despite the fact we should be well past that point of contention by now.  But we should thin the herd now because if that is too produced then the atmosphere that seeps into the second song will be a deal breaker for cvltists as well. 

The theme of this album is to honor Taiga, the spirit of the Siberian forest. If these guys are from Siberia, I can only wonder what it's like getting to band practice as it's pretty harsh there. This is their 6th album, so they have been doing this awhile, and it's apparent in how things flow in their playing. "Skull Gatherers" finds things growing darker and colder with the more melodic elements bleeding into the song's attack in a very effective manner. The vocals fall against the guitars more purposefully than you average black metal bands that find the vocals as an obligatory scream that is more of a layer of human hatred expelled than the nuance occurring here. 

"Impending Death Premonition" is more straightforward black metal, with sung vocals chiming in at the end to help break things up sonically. There is a marginally darker touch to the more deliberate throb of the title track that follows which holds more emotional weight. It was "Where We Are Lost' that my attention got lost and I had to go back to give another listen to decipher for the purpose of this review. This one makes me think of what Cradle of Filth might sound like without all the symphonic cheesiness. A dark melodic throb broken up with accents with great purpose. "Curse of the Void" finds a melodic ambiance setting the stage for another dose of very deliberate black metal, which I will take any day over being blast-beaten numb. Even the sung vocals work well here. There is more of a pagan metal feel which works considering the subject matter. They do employ varied folk instruments throughout the album which factor in prominently here. 

The last song "Mist and Fog" is one of the moodier more melodic moments, I would not say this is accessible to non-black metal listeners but it points them in that direction. Six albums in I do not hear them making any drastic changes as far as that goes, but each album feels like the next step intended. The dynamics of 'Mist and Fog" display this. The folk instruments step forward in the mix, making this song more of a summary of where they are heading. I'll give this album a 9.5, it's another step forward for the band and a stunning listen. Drops of Napalm Records. 

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Black Metal History Month - Olhava : "Sacrafice"

It must be an interesting time to live in Russia. Out of that, this album was born. There is beauty and blitzkrieg found in the bombastic approach to black metal being dropped from the skies here. The atmosphere is thick and it hits you with a hypnotic drone. The vocals are a layer of screaming that just adds a touch of human scorn to things. Their strengths lie in the spacious blankets of atmosphere they wrap you in. The black metal elements crash in behind these always lurking. The second song seems to have just washed you over with the ambiance, it is hard to tell if it was a song at all. 

They continued to hypnotize you with the melodic theme dominating this album on the 17-minute "I See Myself in Your Eyes". It is a wall of sound that loses you in the sonic swathe. Some of this could have been edited down and still had the same effect with a more concise nine-minute song. On top of bringing you wild wandering excursions into the unknown ambiance, they also write pieces called "Ageless River: which is broken up into parts spaced throughout the album which are just atmospheric interludes allowed to sprawl out. At over fourteen minutes" Eternal Fire" is another song that might have benefitted to have some of the excess atmosphere trimmed back to give the song more direction. As it is things move like clouds, awaiting the wind to guide them. It all sounds great. 

This album is well produced, they have everything dialed in to create an opiate of sonics, but from a song perspective it is something you feel more than listen to. The title track is an even more straightforward static drone of sound that works off the vibration of blast beats. When the screaming comes in it is just another layer, The lyrics could be in Russian and it would not matter as they are never something that stands out in the songs. Midway in the drums go half time, which takes the tension away and releases things to soar in a predictable fashion. I will give this album an 8, I like the sounds captured sometimes they work better as a song than other points, but they succeded in what they set out to do here which is hard to argue against. 

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Predatory Void : "Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being"

Combining members of Amenra with the vocalist from Russian Black Metal band Cross Bringer, there is something dark and powerful being created here. While Lina's vocal mainly focus on more brutal harshness, she does sing some passages in a more ethereal alto . The heaviness is a like a crashing wave , it hit and then recedes with a throb. I would say these guys are more sludge than any other genre as the sonic heaviness approaches the shadows rather than bathing in them like a doom band would. There is more emotion being poured out here than just aggression. 

Simmering under the surface is a  black metal influence, that comes from more than just the scathing manner Lina screams. Blast beats bubble like a furious undercurrent on the title track. It starts off as one of the most melodic songs, before things get ugly. The two minutes into the song and they take off with the speed for a good thirty seconds. The manner the black metal elements are woven into the fabric of their sound, is done in a very organic manner, so it's not like they are all of sudden showing up in corpse pain. Not that there is anything theatrical enough to call for that display of their inner Halloween to paint themselves up for. With that said, I do not think the title track is as well written as the first two songs. It's not ineffective, it just doesn't connect with me as much mood wise. 

Normally I would prefer the kind of downtrodden folk they veer off into with "Seeds of Frustration" but the song just lingers in its melancholic drone and never goes elsewhere. They hammer back at you with a black metal core anger. The drummer is impressive there is no question about that. It is not their most hook filled song. Instead, it works off a stormy brooding. If you are wondering which genre is heavier black metal or sludge, that question is answered by the shift of sound going into "Shedding Weathered Skin" proves the weight of deliberation crushes blast beats . The last song gives your ears more breathing room by creating space for dynamics when it breaks down into a more palm muted hush. I will give this album a 9, it is pretty relentless, but shows a willingness to work with melody, and has a beautifully dark mood. 

Dunwich : "Tail Tied Hearts"

June has been our death metal month here at Abysmal Hymns so this album was a breath of fresh air I needed after having been on a steady diet of single single minded aggression. The first song focuses more on the darker and more mood setting atmosphere of what this trio from Russia does, while the second song, packs more of a metallic punch and finds frontwoman Margarita Dunwich, really proving herself in terms of dynamics with a convncing snarl. Blackend Doom might be the closest genre to describe them as , but heavy in the metallic sense is only one side of what they do. "Wooden Heart" has a more western folk rock feel, the emphasis being on the rock part as the song builds with an almost 60s occult rock feel.

The organ going into "Mouth of Darkness" colors this song with more goth overtones. It is cool that they do not default to wanting to be Siouxsie and the Banshees to express this and there is more of a Deep Purple vibe until it breaks down on the verse. It is however the vocal melodies that make this and the dynamic shift with her growl punching the point home. I do not have an expectations of what music like this coming out of Russia should sound like. I think the only Russian bands I listen to are black metal. "Fall"sounds like something you might find on the soundtrack to a David Lynch movie, This album has a wide range of sonic colors thanks to all the places they chose to pull from . The fact her voice is capable at both ends of her spectrum also helps things. You could hear this song and just take it at face value that this is how she sings based on first impressions.

The thickly reverbed guitars give "Sanctuary" more of a 60s psyche rock feel. It is brooding rather than basking in acid glazed wonderment. It does build witha heavier intensity and finds her digging into the guts of her growl. They close the album with stunning ambiance of "the Sea" . It is cinematic in the feeling it evokes conjuring the images of the vast waters with the spacious melody the guitars offer. Her voice on this makes me think of the eerie feel conveyed by the theme song to "Rosemary's Baby". The songs flows like waves rocking a sleep to slumber as a storm looms. I will give this album a 10 it is flaw less and a must for fans of dark rock / metal.  This album comes out August 21st on Caligari Records. It will be well worth the wait and here in time for Halloween. I start getting ready for Halloween in July, but August should be more than enough time the way things are now.

Black Metal History Month - Arkona : "Khram"

This band has cleared up any problems I have had with folk metal. The majority of what I have come across sounds like pirate drinking songs are have to much frolicking in Shire. I play pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons twice a week and read tons of epic fantasy from Glen Cook to Erickson, so I am the target audience for this kind of music. The problem I have with the frolicking and the shanties is they are too happy and I need my metal as dark as possible. The ninth album from this Russian band delivers what I need and when they do begin to gallop off into the sunset, it is not as unnerving as it has already been contrasted by more dark and heavy passages. The album opens up with chanting so creepy I kept finding myself turning around to see if there was a witch in my closet. They show up ready to do battle and don't get over indulgent into the more LARP like elements until the seventeen minute second song. I tend to not keep many sprawling seventeen minute songs in my iPod as they would take up the entire car ride to pretty much any where I go, but for what it is the song borders on being more progressive mid-way through and reaffirms their chops if you were unsure of them.

The song that follows is twelve minutes. It opens with a tense strum of cleaner guitar, before layers of guitar begin to come in. Midway into the song when they break from the dark drone of the verse riff to bury you in a barrage of double bass it works because they have already offered a range of dynamic colors. The harsh vocals are growled in a more throaty death metal voice. The drummer and the guitars are a well balanced blend of technicality and angry metal emoting. The title track has a darker throb and the album begins to remind me of Kamfar, though it eventually winds to into something more Moonsorrow like. The double bass continue to keep things moving, though the song works off a building drone. Rather than a shift in the arrangement, layers like folk instruments and sung vocals float in and out. The pay off which is you know is coming is a shift in tempo when the thunder of drums sweeps up the song. This leads to a call and response between the growled make vocals and the harmonized female vocals.

"V Pogonie Za Beloj Ten'yu" is more straight forward in it's bold gallop. At this point it's clear these guys are more black metal than they are folk metal. Midway into it they give the song some breathing room with a dynamic shift into some ambiance. There is more of an electronic element to this passage than expected from these guys. This is what I want for bands to do the unexpected. Hearing hundred of bands over the course of a month you get tired with them sticking to the script. It would really be different if I was not sure that they were going to bust back into the double bass. This of course happens in the songs final two minutes. There is a piano intro to " V landonyah bogov". The guitar slowly begins to fade into the picture, before fully busting into the metal at the two and a half minute mark. The dry mid-range rasp of the male vocals is dominant, before the verse ebbs down into a melodic pondering.There more progressive flare to this song keeps things continues to fine the band exceeding expectations before the shift into more of a groove that give way to the inevitable blasting. I am fine with blast beats on this album since it is not their only stock and trade. It never feels like they are just taking the easy way out.

The album closes with "Volchitsa". The beginning of this song might fool you into thinking you are listening to Dead Can Dance until the guitars buzz in. Dark and melodic, the drummer proves he is brilliant even when playing to something more smoldering and introspective. I'll give this album a 9, it's in the iPod though considering some of the song lengths see how it sits there. If you want some black metal that is melodic with folk elements then this is the album for you.

Wowod : "Nutro"

The opening chords of the first song remind me of something I can't put my finger on. These guys play a very dark metallic brand of oppressive hardcore which after feeling the initial weight of it's heaviness will find me asking the question ok now can you guys write a song. This is what we shall try to determine in the course of the review. They can play blast beats in a punk fashion, do the dots connect between the two sections, not really. The second song finds them at a more ripping hard core tempo. Most hard core bands play like this I get it. The catch is I have already heard most hard core bands so looking for something different ...see this entry for more info...http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-i-want-from-2018.html

There is a tense Converge like chug to the build coming out of the verse. Nothing is catchy or really sticks with me, this is what sets Converge apart from the spawn they influenced. By the third song they are beginning to run together until they slow it down and give the song some room to breath and allow it be heavy sonically and not just heavy metal. The vocals have more of a low death metal roar to them. Sometimes they go up a little higher into more of a death metal snarl. The production is very dense and the album is well mixed so it has that going for it. I am half way into the fourth song, before I realize where I am at in the album. There is a riff that breaks things up, but the rule around here is cool riffs alone do not a good song make. However this song might have the most moving parts that work well with one another.

They don't fully have my attention again until the last song "Death". It's the melodic ring of the chords that finds that sweet spot of heavy sonics bringing me back in after the song before it faded into a buzz of distortion that just became background noise as I could have been listening to any metal band.I'll give this a 6.5, these guys have potential .Taking influence from Converge is not a bad thing, I would just like to hear a fraction more melody and less regurgitation of stock hard core. But you don't hear much of this sort of thing coming out of Russia so maybe it's next level shit over there. / metal riffs.

Gothtober-Suffer in Paradise :"Ephemere"

Dreary enough to help get you in the mood for the coming dark season the winter solstice is about to usher in, these guys do have a gothic enough sound with the atmosphere created by the keyboards. Funereal doom might not be goth in the traditional sense, but doom metal has crossed over into goth with bands like My Dying Bride so I see Funeral doom being the spawn of that band. What is more goth than a funereal? The ten minute title track opens the album. I am always hungry for this kind of doom so the atmospheric melancholy is sweet to my ears. In the tradition of other bands I love like Evoken and Mournful Congregation. The songs have a beautiful creep to them. The atmosphere this Russian band creates is different from that of their predecessors as it is more steeped in a contrasting gentleness to the melodies.

The guitars tremolo pick on "My Pillory" in way that sound more like strings and not black metal at all. They hit a similar majestic territory as Mournful Congregation going into the verse. The guitars blend well with the organ sound. The production on this album is admirable.The drums sound a little programmed and tinny going into "the Swan Song of Hope". While the synths worked on the first two songs, they work best with more of the guitar's low end set against them.The rest of the song doesn't tap into the power I heard on the first two songs and is what I want more of. The piano part in 'the Wheels of Fate" sounds really good, but the drums need more balls to the as the patter of double bass is too lightly mixed.The low end gurgle of the vocals still works but could also use a little from the mix which finds the synths way too forward and the heaviness getting lost in the atmosphere. The clean guitar break half way into the song would have had more impact if things had seemed heavier going into it. At the seven and a half minute mark things take a more organic turn and it sounds like they really plug and showed up. The vocals are also more layered.

 The Bone Garden" finds the increasing metallic attack of the guitar over powered by the piano and softer elements that the mix is bolstering. The strings sound fine and the classical elements have their place in what these guys do, I think the heaviness really needs more love. You can hear some of the cool ideas they had in mind for the guitars but the execution is thwarted by the mix. Ironically "Call Me to the Darkside" could stand to be a little darker. They do beef up the metal, so the synths are not drowning it out. So at least it moves in a heavier direction and does get darker at the end so it must have takne time for that call to go through, I will give this album an 8 most of it's problems are in post-production. The first to songs are great and none of the songs are bad some times the point comes across better than others.
 

Neverending Winter : "Хиус"

So I was taking a break from Game of Thrones to get some writing done and it's pretty fitting I chose this albums as it makes for a good transition. In someways they are like Agalloch with out trying to bore you to death with long and winding epic songs. Not that Agalloch is boring , but all the band who tried to be like them sure seem to be. The vocals are rasps and snarled with such nasty animal like intensity that you can t even make out the Russian. They have a rough guitar tone, but it keeps the galloping riffs pretty mean with some weird black metal like breaks in-between that suggest some punk influence is in here some where.The song named after the band is more straight forward and benefits from a sharp guitar attack. They do dip into their more folk side and this song almost touches the 8 minute mark which is still pretty efficient with this genre.

This band can't be easily summed up as black metal though they are more black metal than they are folk metal. "Heeus" starts off a little darker then comes alive with a more commanding brand of metal. Five minutes in and the folk comes back starting to make this formula more habitual. The last song is "Sib Ir" . Which allows it's angry stomp to give way to the more coasting clean guitar passages. Art just over the nine minute mark this is the album's longest song. Double bass is one of this drummer's stronger suits. It is refreshing that he doesn't lay the blast beats on too thick. They dig into that more thrash like version of black metal that was perfected by Dissection. The riffs get really mean going into the four minute mark. The guitars are this album's strong suit for sure. The drummer gets the job done, but he still adheres to the bible of metal playing. Not to say the guitars don't do this as the bass player is probably the most creative member but sits back in the mix. The progressions the song build into could be something off a Thursday album as it rides the line between emo and hardcore.

The songs final moments go out on strummed guitar which I didn't see coming and had me waiting for the blast beats that never came. And that my friend is how to use blast beats. I'll give this one a 9 as I debate if it's going to make it over to my iPod or am I going to load "Storm of the Light's Bane" on their instead. Thats not to say these guys are Dissection rip of by any means, perhaps they would be more tempted to be if they were not from Russia. Any way this is a very solid album of blackened metal, not weighed down with blast beats and full of other textures. In short pretty bad ass.

Jassa : "Lights in the Howling Wilderness"

Catching back up with Fallen Empire Records. It was not so long ago that you could not go wrong with them. It seems they are delving into more traditional metal rather than atmospheric black metal. The guttural vocals of this Russian band plants them more firmly on the death metal side of the equation. They know the value of atmosphere, but prefer to trample you under the racing guitars. The drums and bass both keep you so that is pretty impressive. The bass player stood out on the intro piece, by the time you are well into "Crescent moon over dark water" they are touching on thrash. If they production was tweaked and the vocals did not create a blown out wall of distortion in their own right then this would sit closer towards a band like Vader. There is enough dissonance to keep their thrash influences at bay. At the six minute mark they lock into a pretty moving groove and a weird clean vocal chant chimes in.

"The One who waits on the other Side" walks a weird tight rope sometimes it lulls you into more of a hypnotic drone at others it seems like they can get to preoccupied with the need for speed. It is more black metal than the two previous songs. The songs more melodic moments that come later in the song play to their strengths. This song faces a similar problem to the song "Breath of the Most Ancient God" that follows in that it runs together with the song before it so I have to click back over to their Bandcamp page when I think they might have moved onto another. So what does this mean you ask? Well the uniformity of their sound can cause all the songs to sound the same which is not a quality I admire in a band. "Breath of the most Ancient God" is more aggressive and thrash influences really come out to play once you are more submersed in the song.

The album ends with a outro that is various forms of ambient noise. Overall this is different from what I am used to hearing from this label. I like the fact it is not straight up run of the mill death metal. Production wise I would have tweaked the vocals a little, I under stand not wanting to sound like everyone else so it's a fine line here. The songs running together and the rather uniform dynamic is my only other concern keeping this from being regular listening, I'll give it a 7.5. If you are bored with your death metal give these guys a shot.

3.1

Volan : " Начало"

These guys are hip hard-core from Russia, meaning hard core for the cool kids not hard-core hip-hop. The first song sounds like Gojira or slowed down Meshuggah that is not trying to fool you with it's time signatures. The vocals are more traditional metal core yelled growled, they are more than likely in their mother tongue, but shouted in such a way, along with being mixed against the wall of guitars, that you can't out what is being said any any event. There is more darkness that creeps into the second song. The drummer is a tasteful beast and the bass player makes himself know by hitting the string with resounding resonance. What goes wrong is the songs bleed into one another, meaning they do not have distinct enough sounds to separate them as they fade into a back ground rumble. The fourth song is more atmospheric, which at this point in the album is a wise move as it helps give a breather.

The bust out of this breather with a more typical hard core pounding ,  in some ways this reminds me of Bloodlet's first album. When it breaks down into more melodic sections the song is more effective, as you do not hear it as heavy until you hear what it sounds like as not being heavy. I know that might be a lot to consider if you just want heavy, but try to keep up. The guitar adding melodies that creep in atop the drums pounding helps make this song actual much instead of sonic rage.By the time I am at the last song, they have begun to run together again for me. The last song is heavy sure, but doesn't bring anything new to the table we have not heard from the previous songs.

These guys are good musicians and have potential. I checked this band out because Dead Air at the Pulpit claimed they were dark and they are, however no body claimed they were the best song writers so no false advertising. I'll give this one a 6.5. If you want very metallic hard-core that let's face it more metal than hard core,  with lyrics and vocals  that are the least of your concerns then this is worth checking out, not the most original, but well done.

Cpy6 : "Песни Злых Цветов"

There has been little in the way of good Halloweenish goth coming out so this project was discovered just in time. Very dark wave in the sense that all of the beats that open us the album would get a dance floor moving. The operatic vocals are full of drama and a well departure from another band just trying to rip off Sisters of Mercy. The lyrics are all in Russian which makes the vocals sounds like they are being used as an instrument than moping about lost love. The second song backs off from the dance heavy impact of the opener and finds the vocals whispering. Two minutes actual singing comes in. It's not as graceful as it was on the opener and there is a slight neo folk weirdness going on. It's like a darker version of Psychic Tv. The third song is more melodic in a similar vein as older Cure, though Vhs or Beta's less disco moments come to mind as well. The vocals less over the top than they were on the first song.

Leaving no dark corners of the goth world unturned, They go into a more Siouxsie direction on the 4th song. It's up beat and more of a fun party mope song. The vocals remain very strong and even though its a male baritone, the melody makes it easy to hear the Siouxsie reference. The drama returns after this song and the pace picks up. The guitar tone continues to be beautifully creepy no matter what direction they are going in. After this they return to a more brooding brand of neo-folk. They are not directly ripping off Death In June, but doing their own thing which is more atmospheric. The acoustic guitar picks out the riff rather than being content to just strum it.

They plug back in and embark on a more sonic fare . The cool thing about the Russian folk influence that dominates this album is the choice of intervals used in the melodies doesn't go with the typical vocal lines you expect from a dark wave band. There is enough spooky in their choices to resonate with most bat-kids. The guitar is very icy and the bass might be more audible on some songs than it others, how ever how many goth band have you already heard that roll down Fascination Street booming in that way so I'm good with something different. The album is well produced with the re verb echoing in all the right places. There is a fuzz of synths on "3o6a" and the drums take on a more 808 like electronic feel, while the vocals dance around it. This succeeds in sounding like nothing I have really heard before though if I was pinning this tail on any donkey it would be early Cocteau Twins. The last songs skips back to a more upbeat place similar to Siouxsie in the pacing though the vocals couldn't be more dramatically different in tone. I'll round this one up to a 10 it hits all the right dark places in me, now to hunt down an actual upload of this. If you are a child of the night, this is worth your time .

8.6