This here is the debut album from the anonymous entity that is the Serbian CPMT, apparently pronounced SMRT and which translates as Death in most Slavic languages. Lesson over. With a cover that is very much the continuation of their earlier Mrtvaja EP (reviewed in these very pages) and roots in the blood-soaked Balkan folklore it certainly has enough intrigue.
‘Seme Ponoci’ pretty much just launches into it, and what I immediately hear is a wild and raw sound but with a deep melodic melancholy carrying the tune. With a grasp of the windswept somewhere between maybe Winterfylleth, Sargeist and some of the UK underground like Thy Dying Light, it is an immediate and adept sound. It’s hard not to be embraced by it immediately, the howling cold, the pre-Christian feel of the folklore rising in the winter mist. It has that pounding, rolling drive to the riff, a familiar but still fine sound. The title track is pretty much from the same cold cloth; the relentless drumming, the riff carrying the grey, cold melody. The excellent howled vocals cutting through like ice.
‘Prokletije’ slows the hurtling through the storm and the low buzz of ‘Filosofem’ period Burzum begins to drape itself around you. Keyboards offer a minimalist echo, the guitar conjures a little Fellwarden style mystery of the land but the vocals remain harsh, menacing. Or simply the sound of something old demanding to be heard.
‘Vrani Pir’ has some voices, sounding like a woman perhaps angry, perhaps mourning; it’s difficult to say before the hard and straightforward black metal riff sends its shrill voice into the world. A pause, and a lovely second beginning with a hook to the riff that just makes your soul ache. It achieves so much connection mostly simply through music, the odd howl punctuating but the riff leading. Another fine song…
‘Srce Od Trjna’ is more urgent. Strident maybe. The sound is thinner, the riff sharper and the drumming waiting its time before amping up the drive. Less atmospheric, more bitter somehow. ‘Memla’ is another song that commands a sedate pace and a feeling of age weighs heavily upon it; something akin to WITTR though with a European rather than Cascadia sound. But again it works, it reaches out and pulls you in. ‘Mesecev Zub’ is another song with more bite than atmosphere, the vocals eager to spit out the words as the guitar freezes the air around it.
We close with ‘NaVecernjem Lahoru’. Minimalist keyboards and whispered vocals before the scree of guitar scrapes across it like a sheet of razor ice. A curious and sombre end to the debut.
This is, at its heart, orthodox black metal. With no lyrical translation the subject matter is lost in the blizzard and I suspect most black metal fans will find nothing unusual or innovative here. But what they will find is a debut of atmosphere and eerie melody. Yes the influences are well worn; Burzum, Sargeist, a little WITTR too, but for a debut this is a fine beginning and with such foundations it will be interesting to see what grows. In the meantime, it is well worth a listen indeed.
(7.5/10 Gizmo)
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