Vspolokh are a band from Russia that has had music reviewed before in this zine and on this recording goes for a very epic, atmospheric and raw form of pagan black metal and this is a review of their 2024 album "Mertvozenr" which will be released in December by Purity Through Fire.
Dark soundscapes and field recordings start off the album before going into a heavier direction while most of the tracks are also very long and epic in length. When the music speeds up a decent amount of tremolo picking and blast beats can be heard which also gives the songs more of a raw black metal feeling.
Vocals are a mixture of deep growls and screams while the songs also add in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts. Melodies are also added into some of the guitar riffing When guitar solos and leads are utilized they are also done in a very melodic style along with the songs also mixing in influences from the classic Eastern European era of the genre mixed in with a more modern approach
Atmospheric sounding synths can also be heard on a couple of tracks. as well as some acoustic guitars also being introduced onto the album with a later song as well as some folk instruments and female vocals also being utilized briefly. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics are written in Russian and cover nature, Darkness, Heathenism and Heritage themes.
In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Vspolokh and if you are a fan of raw, epic and atmospheric pagan black metal, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Kapa" and "Касли". 8 out of 10.
.jpg)
