Time to polish up the Polish once more as we take on this band from the picturesque looking (well at least on an image search) Końskie, Świętokrzyskie region of the country. The band name appears to translate to The Deceased which is quite fitting and the album title as ‘The Barren Lands.’ I also noted that it was the name given to the Polish translation of Stephen King’s Dark Tower odyssey Chapter III – The Wastelands which perhaps could be a source of inspiration. Other info construed is the fact that the trio behind the group originally released this independently as a three track EP back in 2020. It has now been spruced up by the label with new cover-art (depicting an urban wasteland) and extra material.

Violent black metal greets us and instantly hones in with hostile intent on opener Gdzie mieszkasz? (‘Where Do You Live). It sounds like the answer to that question is in a bomb shelter being shelled by the heavy artillery of the drummer. Vocals growl in native tongue over the top and there’s a volatile and spiky sound from the guitars. Jagged, thorny and antagonistic seems to be the approach here but there is plenty of space allowing the roughshod battery to slow down over the somewhat lengthy song structures. Guitars shiver and shake in constant motion, drawing out the melody and their urgent clamour tumbles into next track ‘Szuflady’ which has them literally doing a flamenco as they weave away. “Rage and Grief, Fire and Ash” seem to be the lyrical impetus here and it is all delivered in a warlike and antagonistic fashion until it slows with an echoing cry and allows a gloomy instrumental passage to take over. The bass twanging groove of this is pretty effective and paints a picture of a world in cataclysmic ruin in which we are left to “wander” through on 3rd part ‘Wędrowcy.’ It may well be a wasteland but the conclusion to the final part of the original EP suggests it is full of pitfalls and booby traps likely to catch the unwary.

After a short instrumental piece, we get the newly recorded number Patrzą na nas tylko satelity “Only Satellites Are Watching Us” and can only assume that the world Zmarłym inhabit has been further rendered asunder between the old material and debut album ‘Druga fala’ of 2021. The production is heftier, the rage at start absolutely furious and strikes as moving more into a blackened death orientation. Vocals snarl and snap at the listener and the musicianship still tumbles around injected with impulsive melody.  After delivering fearsome decimation it is the second half of the track where the band think a bit outside the box injecting surprise cleanly crooned vocals into things and rousing us with a passage resembling an acapella singalong. This proves an interesting listening experience between past and present and leaves one wondering what is likely to occur next in the band’s recording history. I expect when it comes there will be a few surprises in store.

(7/10 Pete Woods)

https://www.facebook.com/zmarlym

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/ziemie-ja-owe