All that came with this EP was the minimalist description “Poland Post Black”. The cd itself comes with lyrics, the last of which on the opening track “Death I” read: “The coldness pervades me for the one last time, your hopeless black daydreams now lead me to die, I must die …”
Given the description and the lyrics, the opening was more upbeat than I expected. Yes, it’s heavy, but it’s rapid in its dark progress, melodic even. Zørza capture our attention with a fluid and atmospheric metal song. If we’re going to quibble about genre, I’d say this was more the melodic death metal of someone like Omnium Gatherum rather than post black. Whatever we decide, “Death I” is a pungent and intense song with great all-round instrumental performances. “St Bigot” blasts off in similarly explosive style. I really like the energy of this. The vocalist’s growly echoes and roars are effective, conjuring up visions of a nasty world. The drumming is hard, while the guitar work adds personality. The mood now has darkened and the ferocious atmosphere is that of black metal. But this does not drag us through the mud. The guitar work is pulsating. As a musical piece “St Bigot” is exciting.
A sombre instrumental piece follows. A symphonic movement is accompanied by the sound of waves lapping up against the shore, creating a sad effect. The sadness extends into the fourth and final piece “IEI” (Ignoramus et Ignoramebus). A spoken narrative accompanies a striking post-metal introduction before the song notches up with the rapid-fire metal melody of the first two songs. The imperious post-metal stands out and acts as the glue, developing the atmosphere. The narrator returns. The words are as gloomy a “Death I”. The tempo changes. Zørza drive us forward. The raw drum beat recalls early black metal. In fact the driving guitar work has the feel of Windir as it blows us forward remorselessly. A giant roar intensifies the atmosphere further as “IEI” comes to an end.
This was quite a surprise. From the description and the lyrics I was expecting something sludgy and morbid, and this was none of that. Over 24 minutes Zørza inject energy, melody and life into their music, and clearly have given careful thought to the end structure. “IEI” is fluid at times, melancholic at others. The band expertly build dark atmospheres. I really enjoyed this and look forward to the next instalment from Zørza.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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