Svrm - Червів майбутня здобич EP

... and to dust you shall return.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on April 21st 2022) 

Eastern European art has always been quite interesting to me. Whether it’s Fyodor Dostoevsky’s writings on human nature and life, or in today’s case, music, I was fascinated by its grounded and realistic character. Svrm’s most recent EP, Червів майбутня здобич, adorned with a very striking lithograph titled “Death Found An Author Writing His Life”, is a powerful, if brief, rumination on mortality, and the cycle through which all living beings go through.
To go with these sombre themes, multi-instrumentalist S. has created some very straightforward, yet potent, atmospheric black metal tunes. Melody-tinged tremolo riffs hurl themselves at the listener constantly, creating a cold and meditative atmosphere for one to indulge in. Despite this insistence on up-tempo riffing, the songs aren’t short in dynamics either, and thanks to their short durations they manage not to overstay their welcome. The titular opener and the closer, “Смерть” in particular are highlights in that aspect. The former of the two throws some nice curveballs in terms of its pacing, with some slower riffs appearing around the halfway mark, while the latter has some nicely placed acoustic sections, courtesy of Cronin. It’s a very cohesive and concise experience, and the fact that it clocks in at just over 17 minutes really helps with making this release not drag.
The production is also very much appropriate for what we have here, fitting the music and themes perfectly. It’s appropriately lo-fi and cold, with the buzzing guitars being at the forefront, supported by surprisingly crisp drums, all while the bass is nigh-on inaudible, its pulsating being audible only if you’re really attentive. As for the mixing, it’s solid enough, barring the previously mentioned lack of bass, and S.’ screams and howls aren’t particularly upfront, opting instead for a more distant approach.
While compositionally the release is great, it’s still marred by a few, yet noticeable drawbacks. The tracks sandwiched between the opener and the closer are the briefest ones here, clocking in at 3:43 seconds each. While the brevity isn’t necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, it’s the abrupt way in which they end that drags them down, and they could’ve benefitted from staying in the oven for a while longer, leading to more developed songs. There’s also the fact that the compositions presented here aren’t something you haven’t heard before, especially if you’re a fan of other Ukrainian atmoblack bands like Drudkh. It’s well-executed, but nothing mindblowing, though I don’t have much of an issue with that.
On the whole, Червів майбутня здобич is a compact and powerful dose of black metal. It’s not a life-changing work, neither on a compositional nor a thematic level. At the end of the day though, it still carries the spirit and depressive charm Eastern Europe is known for, and that’s something I can’t get enough of.
Highlights: Червів майбутня здобич, Смерть

Rating: 89% 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Batushka & Houle concert report, 28/09/2025

Image
Salted Wounds and Incense; or, a Black Metal escapade Besides getting to know a place like the back of your hand, I’m a firm believer that you’ve truly made yourself at home somewhere when you start participating in the area’s local artistic events, which, for a guy like me, tend to begin and end with attending concerts of artists passing through the area. It’s a great way of meeting people with similar interests as you, and as we all know, shared experiences foster connection between people, through reminiscing and simply “being in the moment”. It’s always been the little things that stuck with me at shows, and a city as small as Thessaloniki is proud to boast of a very tight-knit metal community, where everyone’s a regular at the same few places, and tends to show up in the same shows as you do. You get to see some people you’ve talked to in passing, and perhaps even share an awkward “Were you in [X] show? Wasn’t it cool?” moment. There’s a charm to such interactions that is hard t...
Read more

Sacred Serenity - Redefining Life

Image
Hit 'em with the brain destroyer. I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life . This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule. Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of re...
Read more

Elder - Lore

Image
Albums I like a lot: Part II (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on August 21st 2021)  Stoner doom’s always been a hit or miss genre for me. On one hand, it has a vibe and energy that can scarcely be matched by other styles, on the other you can only hear so many bands rip off Sabbath riffs before you get bored. As a whole it’s a very single minded style that rarely goes beyond being heavy and “weed lmao”. And I say rarely because Elder exists. While their earliest work falls in that category (more specifically their self-titled), they’ve always had a unique flavour to them. Ever since Dead Roots Stirring they’ve added these subtle psychedelic and at times progressive touches that helped them stand out from the rest of the bands in the genre. Their third outing, Lore stands out for being the perfect marriage of psych and stoner doom, and has cemented itself as my favourite album in the genre, and by extension the band’s catalogue. From the very first few...
Read more