Belarusian Metal

Essence of Datum – Spellcrying Machine Review

Essence of Datum – Spellcrying Machine Review

“Instrumental metal has been a difficult branch for me to get into. A big part of why I got into metal is due to the wild dynamics offered by a human voice (and in one particular case, a coffee grinder). But there are always exceptions to the rule that eventually break the rule entirely. In my case, the first band to pop my “vocals or bust” bubble was Nightwish, whose instrumental-only rendition of Dark Passion Play is so compelling I ended up preferring it over the standard edition. Then I discovered Sleep Terror, a fantastic instrumental tech-death/surf/funk band you all owe it to yourselves to investigate. From there I discovered Echopraxia, a ghost/supernatural themed instrumental metal act, and now I’ve stumbled upon Essence of Datum, an instrumental melodic prog-death couplet from Minsk.” Voices don’t carry.

Pa Vesh En – Pyrefication Review

Pa Vesh En – Pyrefication Review

Pa Vesh En’s Pyrefication begins as many black metal records begin, with a foggy sequence of sustained riffs and electronic noises that draw an atmospheric veil. It takes a moment to adjust to this tenebrosity. The music appears monolithic at first, until silhouettes of individual ideas start revealing themselves. Like a symphonic orchestra attuning their instruments in preparation of a concert, the Belarusian one-man project uses the opening “…In the Ghostly Haze” to timidly set the stage of its second full-length release, exploring and expanding into sound spaces.” Purity through fire.

Verwüstung – Gospel ov Fury Review

Verwüstung – Gospel ov Fury Review

“Nothing gets me going like blackened thrash metal. The mere sight of a promising promo that places the words “black” and “thrash” together is enough to manifest a throbbing pillar of flesh in my britches, the magnitude of which is rivaled only by the tower of Isengard. Belarus quartet Verwüstung take things a step further by describing their second album Gospel ov Fury as “a fucking firestorm of blackthrashing metal.” Jesus. Suddenly I need a cold shower.” Rage-gasms.

Irreversible Mechanism – Immersion Review

Irreversible Mechanism – Immersion Review

Irreversible Mechanism’s debut caused a bit of a stir when it came out in 2015, becoming one of the most successful new releases at the time for the now well-known metal/synthwave boutique label Blood Music. The appeal of Infinite Fields came from both its epic scale and technical wizardry, but like a lot of metal acts, the band achieved that scale via levels of choral and orchestral synthesis that would make Jari Maenpaa himself blush. As fun as it turned out to be, it was easy to write off the band as a young guitar wizard’s opulent vanity project, accomplished but ultimately lacking in the sort of levity that such maximalism chafes against. It’s not so easy to do the same with Immersion.” New flesh prevails?

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Serdce – Timelessness

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Serdce – Timelessness

“Never heard of Serdce? I can’t blame you. The Belarussian prog-death group has been tramping around the metalsphere in undeserved obscurity since 1997 and Timelessness is the fourth(!) LP to spill from their obscenely talented hands and the first to be released by the metal messiahs at Blood Music.” Did you miss this slab of prog-death in 2014? Well, fix that in 2015!