Батюшка -- Литургия (review)

Band: Батюшка
Album: Литургия
Genre: black metal/Orthodox chant
Year: 2015
Label: Witching Hour Productions

The Polish black metal scene has produced yet another fantastic band.  Батюшка (Batushka - title of an Orthodox priest) put a unique spin on the genre by drawing influence from the Russian Orthodox faith.  The three members of the band are shrouded in mystery, but most people say that they are involved with other projects.
Литургия (liturgiya - liturgy) is the band's debut LP, and right off the bat I am impressed.  The album is divided into eight ектении (yektenii - litanies).  The music incorporates Orthodox liturgical chants which give the album a ritualistic feel.  The chanted vocal parts are not samples like most bands use.  The chants are composed and performed by the band; thus, a good portion of the vocal work is done in this manner.  Keeping in line with the theme of 'orthodoxy', the lead vocalist employs the traditional black metal scream.  Overall, these vocal parts are central in the context of the album.
The instrumentation, while not unique, is well composed and executed professionally.  The album is dotted with killer riffs and memorable melodies.  The drumming is predominantly blast beats, but they feel somewhat subdued by the mix (which honestly works here).  The bass has a nice tone and gets a chance to be the center of attention on "Ектения VI: Уповане."  Occasionally church bells chime in between tracks.  In fact, the album feels as if it is being performed in a Russian church.  The guitars create a cavernous atmosphere, and the chants and shrieks echo off the walls.  One can almost smell the air, thick incense.  Литургия aims at creating an atmosphere first and foremost, and it succeeds while also providing quality riffage.
The sum of these litanies is an eerie yet beautiful execution of Polish black metal.  Hopefully this is not a one-off project as I hope to hear more liturgical black metal from these mysterious, talented musicians.  You can give Батюшка a listen on YouTube here.


Rating: 4 / 5
Top Tracks:
Ектения I: Очищение
Ектения III: Премудрость
Ектения II: Благословение

Implore -- Depopulation (review)

Artist: Implore
Album: Depopulation
Genre: blackened deathgrind
Year: 2015
Label: Pelagic Records

I am writing this review in anticipation of the Friday release of the band's sophomore album.

Implore are a relatively new trio from Germany, yet they sound as if they are veterans of the European metal scene.  The band's sound is a seamless mixture of crusty grindcore and HM-2 buzzsaw death metal (a la Dismember) with a blackened overtone.
The band rips through fourteen tracks in under thirty minutes like any good grindcore band would, but they manage to pack the record with diverse arrangements.  From short bursts like "Cadavers On Parade" to more drawn out numbers like "Hegelian Dialectic," Implore manage to weave together an aggressive masterpiece that not only pummels the listener but also provides more crushing sections.  "Ruthless Conspiracy" and the aforementioned "Hegelian Dialectic" both showcase the band's ability to slow down the tempo without losing steam.
Depopulation manages to stand as a single body of work as opposed to fourteen individual parts thrown together thoughtlessly.  Each song bleeds into the next by means of brief feedback interludes; therefore, the flow of the album is never broken by silence or a (often tasteless) track fade-out.  Samples are also used throughout the album, but the band does not use them as a crutch to spice up an otherwise boring album.  Rather, brief samples are woven into the compositions as a means of enhancing the dark atmosphere already conjured by the guitars.
Implore does not just ravage the listener with wave after wave of blast beats and riffs.  They also tastefully weave crushing breakdowns into their compositions.  Tracks such as "Sentenced" and "Bohemian Grove" prove to be excellent headbangers amongst the grinding chaos.  The album closer, "Inexorable Malignancy," contains one of the greatest breakdowns I have ever heard (and I've listened to a lot of slam...), and the band top it off with a powerful lead that I feel punctuates the album perfectly.
This is easily one of the best albums of 2015, and it's exciting to see that it is only Implore's first full-length.  Be sure to give this record a spin; you can stream it on YouTube here.


Rating: 4 / 5
Top Tracks:
Inexorable Malignancy
Epicyte / Parasite
Sentenced
Bohemian Grove