Polish Metal

Medico Peste – ב :The Black Bile Review

Medico Peste – ב :The Black Bile Review

Medico Peste and I are perfect foils. I haven’t reviewed anything in a while; they haven’t released any music in a while. Following 2012’s promising debut release of א: Tremendum et Fascinatio, one might have thought the Polish outfit was sure to be a tendril in the growing reach of their homeland’s brand of black metal. One would have been very fucking wrong. In fact, given Medico Peste’s lone full-length came out a solid eight years ago now and their only activity in the interim was a 2017 EP, one might feel justified in calling their progress ‘non-existent.'” Biled up.

Voidfire – Ogień Pustki Review

Voidfire – Ogień Pustki Review

“At a time when the faith of my youth was crumbling beneath me, my workdays were spent trying to make sense of seeing people in unimaginably horrible situations, and the question of life’s meaning weighed heavily upon me, Man’s Search for Meaning presented three ways through which humans can find meaning in this life: doing great work, knowing great love, or courageously facing unavoidable suffering. Poland’s Voidfire is hoping to channel both the first and last of those possibilities by creating a work that explores the idea of ‘finding artistic inspiration through suffering.'” Life (and music) is pain.

Blaze of Perdition – The Harrowing of Hearts Review

Blaze of Perdition – The Harrowing of Hearts Review

“Hack comedians, when they have nothing of value to say, pepper their routine with profanity and musings about their genitalia to shock the audience into laughter. Metal bands have, fortunately and unfortunately, far more options. Behemoth’s #ILYAYD disaster, and to a lesser degree the middling and overrated The Satanist, showed a band with nothing to say except “please listen to us, we’re still here and iconoclastic – also, buy our dog food!” I bring up Behemoth because, as someone who disliked their last two bloated bores of records for the poor implementation (instead of the existence) of rock influences, Blaze of Perdition does a similar thing but, fortunately, does it well.” The Rock of Judgment.

Aether – In Embers [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

Aether – In Embers [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

Wintersun has long been a favorite of mine. Sure, it’s a band with a whole bunch of frustrations, but Jari Mänepää is a strong composer, and he’s got a cool sound that I can’t help but like. His wild blend of melodeath, power metal, black-tinged folk, and symphonic over-the-top wizardry appeals to me. It’s always a good Time T(w)o listen to well-composed symphonic heavy metal, and this is where the Polish group Aether come in.” Less spa, more metal.

Rosk – remnants Review

Rosk – remnants Review

“Have you ever listened to a band and just known that they have an incredible acoustic album in them? Since the first time I heard Swallow the Sun, I’d been waiting for their acoustic release. Winterfylleth’s The Hallowing of Heirdom was a surprise to me – and also one of my favorite albums of its year and style. When you listen to Miasma, the debut album by Polish post-atmoblack group Rosk, you can just hear the acoustic album waiting to break free. The quiet, intimate passages between songs on Miasma were deeply affecting and begging to be explored further. Only two years later, here it is: Rosk returns with remnants, a fully acoustic, stripped-down, intimate dark folk album with clear atmoblack and doom metal inspiration.” Heartstrings.

Monasterium – Church of Bones Review

Monasterium – Church of Bones Review

“There are a lot of factors that come into play when a person decides to pick up new music to listen to, but the band name is really the most important one. Take Monasterium, for example. The word, discontinued in today’s vernacular, could refer to either a monastery or a monk’s cell within a monastery in Medieval-era English. And, really, that’s all I needed to know before grabbing Church of Bones, the band’s sophomore effort, from the Promo Bin and letting it take over my week.” Monastic metal.

Deus Mortem – Kosmocide Review

Deus Mortem – Kosmocide Review

“A ferocious frenzy. An icy calm. Both are phrases describing points in Deus Mortem’s new album Kosmocide. Due to the seemingly contradictory nature of these two descriptions, one might be skeptical that such dissonant moods could commingle on the same record without creating an inconsistent sound. On their new opus, Deus Mortem do in fact commingle them and still manage to produce a record fans of classic era black metal acts from the 80s and 90s will salivate over.” Ceremony of opposites.

Bloodthirst – I Am Part of That Power Which Eternally Wills Evil and Eternally Works Wrong Review

Bloodthirst – I Am Part of That Power Which Eternally Wills Evil and Eternally Works Wrong Review

“Nietzsche and metal. It’s a match made in Hell! A hasty glance at either by the uninitiated (or sometimes even the intimately familiar) will reveal themes of nihilism, misanthropy, power, and hatred of religion. Most people familiar with metal know that while these themes are indeed to be found in our favorite music. There is an entire world of nuance and diversity of thought to be found by those willing to take the time to dive down below the surface. Much the same with Nietzsche, I suppose.” Hidden supermen.