Deviator "Might ov Ancient"

Band: Deviator

Title: Might ov Ancient

Label: Vacula Productions / Kundalini Records

Release date: October 31, 2016

Country: Ukraine

Might ov Ancient, the 2016 offering from Ukrainian black/doom outfit Deviator, is actually a compilation of sorts. The first three tracks are from their 2015 EP, Thy Immortal Majesty, and track five is a re-recording of a track from the Відчуження demo, originally released in 2008. The record feels like a complete work, however, weaving doomy passages in a thick atmosphere of dread. The drums serve their purpose, and despite being programmed, don't suffer from the usual "over-mechanized" feel commonly associated with drum machines. While they lack the human, organic element of a live drummer, it almost adds to the coldness of the record. The guitar work is a bit sparse in the beginning of the record, but really picks up by track three, "Thy Immortal Majesty". The song moves between slower, atmosphereic sections to panicked, almost black/death sections that make the song a highlight of the record. "The Inner Self" is an ambient track that is servicable enough, yet on a release that only clocks in at a half hour to have five minutes devoted soley to amience comes across as mostly filler. The final track is another album highlight, a more mid-tempo black metal song that, despite starting out sounding like "So Happy Together" by the Turtles, drops into frantic lo-fi glory. The razor-thin riffs work well over the synths, creating a triumphant feel amongst the darkness. The choice to keep the lyrics in Deviator's native tongue pays off as well; they feel honest and dripping in hatred. Overall the record is good and garners several listens, but doesn't have enough memorable moments across five songs to fully carry its own. (6/10) By d00mfr0gg

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Necandi Homines "Da'at"

Band: Necandi Homines

Album: Da’at

Label: Vacula Productions

Release date: June 5, 2017

Country: Italy

Focus and direction are two qualities that often are taken for granted. It’s easy to lose sight of them when they are present in a record, but when they aren’t there it becomes a glaring omission and the entire work suffers. Unfortunately, Necandi Homines are missing both on their debut full length, Da’at. The black/doom outfit attempts to rely on ambiance and movements to carry their songs, but it comes off as stale and disjointed. The entire first track (“Memento”) is eight minutes of choral mood-setting that, used as an intro, could be cut down by six minutes and still serve the same purpose. There is no payoff, as the first track fizzles out into another meandering build-up on “The Faceless Sculpture”. When the track climaxes, it plateaus and fails to progress, instead dropping off into more atmospheric “mood-building” that fails to evoke much of anything besides waiting for the next track to start. The waiting continues throughout “The Fifth Dimension”, another atmospheric track of mostly bass and drums, until “The Ocean After the Storm” comes in. This is the first track with any real meat on the bones, the drums do a good job of driving the song forward, and it actually feels like there is a purpose here. The vocals, evoke desperation and despair amidst the strummed chord progressions before again dropping into what is the saving grace of the record: the seventeen minute climax track, “Through Deep Waters.” It feels as though this song has purpose, the transitions between movements are smoother and the builds actually have payoff. Atmosphere is finally achieved. The female vocals are extremely well executed and fit right in, they serve as a highlight of the entire album, followed by the best passage Necandi Homines offers on the album. Had this track alone been perhaps released as an EP, the band would have left a much stronger impression, but it’s almost too late at this point. 3/10 By d00mfr0gg

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Molphar "Ice Kingdom"

Band: Molphar
Title: Ice Kingdom
Label: Vacula Productions
Date: February 11th, 2017
Country: Ukraine

Well well ... Of all the information I've been able to collect and where I've been, I've always read that this band played, Black Metal. Yeah yeah... Only if it was in the past. But here in this album? Black Metal has nothing. The riffs used, the way the songs are made and elaborated. Even the distortion used on the guitars used throughout the album, has nothing to do with Black Metal (here I am referring to the typical sound of Black Metal, where the guitars have a normally sharp distortion). But... Very good songs I found. The lyrical content of the band? Well, I do not know if I'll be right, but due to the theme of the songs, I will say that they should be on the theme "Heathen". Of all the songs, I can advise "Ice Kingdom", "Way to Valhalla" and "Immortality". Very good and an excellent sample of good riffs and good Death Metal. But there is a song on this album that for me is very, very good. "Rise of the Blade". Here yes, I already noticed something, that I can say, HERE IS BLACK METAL (I also found small pieces in the song "Memory of Ancients"). ahahahahahah. Yes, here we can see the influences of Black Metal, they must be the "remnants" of the band's past. This song managed to draw even more attention to my ears while my stereo played and played many more times (exactly the same as the other songs on this album). Last words ... I did not know the band, I got to know them, I liked the album, EVERYTHING, and I inform that it will be an album that I will listen to more times. Almost certainly. (Molphar (from what I discovered) is a sorcerer in Carpathian folklore). 7.5/10 By Me, Myself & I

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