Belarusian Metal

Massen – Gentle Brutality [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Kenstrosity on December 24, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Death Metal, Grind, Hardcore, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 43 comments

“If you know me—and most of you should by now—you know that I love bands who fearlessly combine multiple genres into one pot. I want to be blown away by their exploratory vigor, dismissing all pretense of genre loyalty with gusto. Give me something that challenges my advanced ability to categorize and compartmentalize, and you are likely to garner an instant fan. Enter Massen, a Belarusian/German Frankenstein monster who unleashed one of the best records of the year, Gentle Brutality.” Polite hooligans.

Essence of Datum – Radikal Rats Review

By Kenstrosity on October 5, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Synthwave, Technical Death Metal, 32 comments

“Belarusian instrumental tech death duo Essence of Datum did what many have tried and failed to do: help me enjoy of deep instrumental metal. For me, there’s something missing in metal that lacks a vocal element. Part of that is surely rooted in the fact that I almost never listen to purely instrumental music anymore. Nonetheless, the core problem I encounter is that so little instrumental metal excites me, either because of fluffy songwriting with no real backbone, or because it’s simply an excuse for a solo artist to wank all over me without my consent. Not so with Essence of Datum or their last effort, Spellcrying Machine, which was a thoughtful, detailed, and compelling instrumental piece. Can its follow-up, the strange and wacky Radikal Rats, keep that trend running?” Rats in the tech.

Dymna Lotva – The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood Review

By Thus Spoke on August 4, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 27 comments

“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.

Pa Vesh En – Martyrs Review

By Dear Hollow on May 31, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 14 comments

“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.

Ominous Scriptures – Rituals of Mass Self-Ignition

By Dear Hollow on February 3, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, 38 comments

“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.

Pa Vesh En – Maniac Manifest Review

By Dear Hollow on September 10, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 14 comments

“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 – Čornaje Połymia Review

By Dear Hollow on May 10, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, 6 comments

“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.

Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum – Šahrartu Review

By Kenstrosity on January 28, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 85 comments

“…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.

Dkharmakhaoz – Proclamation ov the Black Suns Review

By Dear Hollow on July 30, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Industrial Metal, 43 comments

“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.

Mora Prokaza – By Chance Review

By Dear Hollow on June 29, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Neo-Classical Metal, Rap Metal, 34 comments

“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.