“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.”
With most members featuring the exotic ‘ź’ and far too many consonants, it’s an easy guess to say that Cisza hails from the howling black metal halls of Poland. This Warsaw qvartet started life with a lone 2014 EP under the name Derisum before evolving further in friendship and musicality under the Cisza name. Now, nine years since their post-tinged black metal sound first echoed through the halls, She Yearns for Other Worlds has come to the scene still with that same post character, but also showcasing the multitudes of black metal sounds that define the modern landscape. Between jerk rhythm riff, soaring melody tremolo, and gruff bellowed calls to nature and fantasy, does our crack Rodeö staff too yearn for more Cisza? – Dolphin Whisperer
Cisza // She Yearns for Other Worlds [March 10th, 2023]
Kentrosity: When under their former moniker (Derisum), the band identified as a mixture of black metal, doom, and post-rock. Once revamped with their current name, their identity simplified to simply post-black metal. That, upon spinning debut full-length She Yearns for Other Worlds, feels a lot more accurate to their current sound. Aggressive riffing combines with mournful leads and slick, modern tones with a barking retch characterizing the majority of its vocals. The formula works well, as ripping opener “Ritual of Wind” demonstrates, but there’s a certain depth of substance I find missing in many of these tracks. Throughout the record’s tight 38 minutes, I struggled to find an emotional connection with the material despite the solid, if not remarkable, songwriting. I believe the primary cause is the monotonous vocal delivery, which while competently delivered, doesn’t reflect the passion and desperation of the lead guitars (“Withered, Blackened Heart”). That is, until the magnificent Song o’ the Year contending title track burst into tears. In this track, the vocalist unleashes one of the strongest DSBM wails I’ve heard since Acathexis’ self-titled masterpiece, and then pairs with Draconian-esque mournful croons. Bewilderingly, that simple addition to the sonic palette transformed Cisza’s climactic titular opus into something deeply moving, musically compelling, and conceptually complete. It’s just a shame the rest of the record can’t hold a candle to that song’s magnificence. 2.5/5.0
Cherd: From the Land of Pol in the city of Wars comes the debut full-length She Yearns for Other Worlds, a 38-minute blast of black metal by Cisza, a word that ironically means “quiet.” It starts out on strong footing with “The Ritual of Wind,” which ticks all the boxes you’d want from black metal: punchy sound, a memorable start-and-stop riff and strong melodic trem picking over a scorching four minutes. And as long as Cisza keep things blazing, She Yearns for Other Worlds is a fun ride. “Never Stroll Behind the Pines” is full of pleasantly jittery energy, not to mention good advice. Pine trees are by nature docile and stupid, but if you stroll behind them, you risk spooking up a stampede. A pinepede, if you will.1 But like so many upstart black metal-ers, things get bogged down when they go full atmo. The mid-tempo “Withered Blackened Heart” drains some of the energy set by “The Ritual of Wind” while the post-black-atmo title track almost feels like another album entirely. Atmosphere is better integrated into the end of “Path of the Dwarves,” which proves two things: the world of Tolkien in metal will never get old, and ESL bands should maybe consider sticking to their own language for any spoken word passages. Overall, Cisza have given us a strong debut. When it rips, it rips, and the weakest tracks are easily skippable. 3.0/5.0
Doom et al: There’s a reason two deadlines for this Rodeö review whizzed by without any words from Doomy. Cizsa’s debut is… strange. Not avant-garde strange, but just difficult to pin down. It’s black metal with a punk tinge (“The Ritual of Wind”), but also post-black (“The Path of the Dwarves”)? And bellowed vocals? With that experimental Eastern European je ne sais quoi?, It doesn’t always work, but when it does, holy shit, there’s some top-notch stuff (“She Yearns for Other Worlds”). At their best, Cizsa taps into something raw and emotional without sacrificing the underlying aggression the genre demands. It’s a pity, then, that we only see sparks of this, with quite a lot of stuff that doesn’t work nearly as well (“Never Stroll Behind the Pines,” for example, just hammers on without any discernible direction). This is understandable when you consider She Yearns for Other Worlds is a debut and the band is still figuring itself out. So all in all, a mixed bag, but more than enough interesting stuff to warrant keeping an eye out for the follow-up. 2.5/5.0
Maddog: She Yearns for Other Worlds is a grower. My silly ears categorized it as middling melodic black metal on my first listen and middling atmoblack on my second listen. Only on my third did I realize Cisza’s knack for combining these styles. Cisza aims for the emotional cadence of atmospheric black metal through a hefty dose of tremolo melodies. As such, She Yearns for Other Worlds reminds me most of last year’s White Ward (“Withered, Blackened Heart”). Indeed, tracks like “Path of the Dwarves” and the beautiful “Ritual of Wind” convey palpable sorrow that didn’t hit me at first. Cisza knows how to write solid traditional riffs and solos as well (“Never Stroll behind the Pines”), with the help of a driving bass presence. Still, Cisza succumbs to some common complaints against atmospheric black metal. The softer interlude sections feel unnecessary (“Path of the Dwarves”), and abrupt transitions make some parts sound cobbled together (“She Yearns for Other Worlds”). More broadly, the record isn’t uniformly memorable. For instance, the closers “Jaki Piękny Świat” and “Winter Warriors” tend to go in one ear and out the other, due to their weaker ideas and the onslaught of similar material preceding them. Nevertheless, She Yearns for Other Worlds is a respectable first full-length outing for fans of morose melodies. 2.5/5.0
Thus Spoke: Cisza is the Polish word for “silence,” but like so many paradoxically-named bands, their melodic black metal could only be seen as evoking an inner, contemplative silence as it approaches the more post-black edge of its sound. To that point, while Metal Archives describes them as post-black, much of debut She Yearns for Other Worlds is straightforwardly atmospheric meloblack. This is no bad thing, as the band creates appropriately frosty (“Winter Warriors”) and blistering “Withered, Blackened Heart” assaults that don’t skimp on atmosphere. The best of these, and the album highlight is the back end of “Never Stroll Behind the Pines,” with a dramatic, dancing guitar solo forming the top layer of a dazzling apex. When Cisza do lean into their more contemplative side, as they do most fully on the title track centerpiece, there’s a strong note of sadness, enhanced by female singing and solemn spoken word. Unfortunately, the lead refrain grows a little tired here, whereas elsewhere, compositions feel a little unmemorable and stale (“Path of the Dwarves,” “Jaki Piękny Świat”). It’s not that nothing interesting happens within these tracks, more the sense that Cisza could have injected some of the dark intrigue they show elsewhere here too. Opener “Ritual of Wind” cuts a certain kind of balance between a straightforward and atmospheric approach, with a somewhat twanging sensibility that reminds me of Wayfarer. But it’s still only the gloriously mournful melodicism of “Never Stroll Behind the Pines” that I remember and will continue to listen to. Mixed.2
Itchymenace: I have the same problem with She Yearns for Other Worlds as I’ve had with many other records lately. I love three of the songs and the rest—no matter how many times I listen to them—do little for me beyond a few choice moments. “Path of Dwarves,” “Winter Warriors,” and “Jaki Piękny Świat” are excellent atmo-black metal tracks. While not bringing anything strikingly new to the mix, they have a warm, satisfying vibe to them that demonstrates the best of the genre. Each contains memorable hooks and strong melodies along with standout moments. For “Path of Dwarves” it’s the way the drums let loose at the 3:28 mark. For “Jaki Piękny Świat” it’s the heroic Véhémence-like melody that swoops in the third act at 5:00. And, for “Winter Warriors” it’s the theme variation that closes the last third of the song. As these tracks demonstrate, Cisza is best when they operate within conventions instead of pushing them. On the other hand, the remaining tracks have a looser hit-or-miss mix of influences. Opener, “Ritual of Wind” sounds like mid-00’s Satyricon without the cohesive songwriting and “Withered, Blackened Heart” has a repetitive metalcore style riff that overstays its welcome. The title track meanders down several roads without a strong theme to tie it together but I will say the truly haunting nail-on-blackboard vocals have stuck with me. Cisza shows a lot of potential here and for a debut it’s ambitious. They’ve stuck their shovels in several sandboxes and come up with a messy mix of beautiful sand and unformed clay that ultimately leaves this reviewer yearning for more. 2.0/5.0
