“Art is a conduit for many things, but it’s particularly powerful when both its contents and very existence make some form of protest. A subversion of the status quo and illumination of its not-so-hidden darkness. Such is the case for Dymna Lotva’s third record The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood, a collection of stories of sorrow and injustice—both real and apocryphal—from their native Belarus.” Cries in the darkness.
“Anonymous Belarusian act Pa Vesh En’s track record is impeccable, nearly every installment providing another unique vista of smoke and fog – but always narrowly missing the craved medal of excellence. Anchored by a doomy pace and thunderous percussion, Pa Vesh En has always balanced its more scathing raw black tremolos and shrill shrieks with a thick haze of ambiance.” Raw meat for blackened souls.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here. I liked the title – I thought it sounded cool. Belarus is fun to say. You all know by now that I am not a brutal death kinda guy, so this will be a learning experience for everyone. Slams, crunchy riffs, sticky production, and a vocalist from hell combine for maximum vitriol, and I have never felt so bewildered in my life. How did we end up in track eight? We were just listening to track two. I’ve got my work cut out for me.” Death in effect.
“Another day, another raw black metal act. I was gonna go into the obligatory rant about how it’s the aural form of licorice, but suffice it to say: you either hate it or you love tolerate it. If you’re a masochist who likes to have your ears bleeding on the reg, dive in. If you prefer your music tasteful and somewhat reasonable, stay away. Unless it’s Pa Vesh En, who, along with acts like Black Cilice or Lamp of Murmuur, regularly provide tasteful interpretations of barbed wire tones.” Angry cargo.
“Źmiarćvieły is an anonymous collective from Belarus… maybe. They keep it under wraps. Like the enigma of their members, number, or location, the name itself is shrouded in mystery, its translation from Belarusian is equally murky. Debut Čornaje Połymia is a childlike EP that managed to stack itself into an undercoat to get into the R-rated LP screening. It’s a gamble, truly, to submit your debut EP without notoriety.” Masked bravery.
“…or Eximperitus for short. What’s in a name, anyway? For the nameless, faceless Belarusian purveyors of brutscurity, it contains fragments of Latin, Ancient Egyptian, Akkadian, and Sumerian to form the ‘unutterable name of the antiuniverse.’ Sold. Let’s fucking go.” Names fail us.
“Industrial black metal has not boded well in 2020, with groups like American snoozers T.O.M.B. and Dutch painmongers Ulveblod earning some of the lowest ratings I’ve awarded during my tenure. Dkharmakhaoz’s Proclamation ov the Black Suns, blessedly, is extremely well-written and densely punishing second-wave foray into atmospherics that never neglects its highlights.” Black sunshine.
“Your fifth grade science fair project. Frankenstein’s monster. That godawful sandwich you made of leftover hash browns, macaroni and cheese, hot dog buns, and spaghetti sauce. Said godawful sandwich growing furry mold sitting in the back of your fridge after vowing you’ll eat it later. What do all these have in common? They’re experiments, forays into the unknown. Rife with experimentation, will Mora Prokaza’s latest blackened oddity fall into the happy slurpee realm or the “acquired taste” maggot cheese kingdom?” I’ll just stick with the Haggis.
![The EP, Split, and Single Post Part I [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cuervoportrait-2.jpg)
Did you miss some crucial EPs, splits and singles in 2019? We’ve got you covered, chumbo.
“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.
