30 Mar 2018

Bednja: "Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas"


Brooding darkness bisected by equal parts metal and hardcore
From the start it's clear that Croatian black metal practitioners Bednja aren't your average, garden variety black metal group. Though there is expansive tremolo riff-scapes aplenty, their mix also borrows heavily from modern hardcore, adding grooves and interesting melodies - as well as a more shout-oriented vocal style - to the concoction.

Iz Magle, the album opener, starts with a dissonant Deathspell Omega-style riff which could easily have just evolved into standard, modern black metal. But instead they choose to further build up the tension by adding a slow scissor beat, before ultimately emerging into a full-blown blast beat, and then dissolving to a crawling crunch. This type of unusual structural progression is as good an example as any to portray the Croatian outfit's alternative approach to the genre.

"...masterfully mixed and mastered album..."

Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas, the group's debut from early 2018, is unpredictable to a degree, but they've left openings that shine the light of recognition through the otherwise impenetrable darkness. Highlights on this masterfully mixed and mastered album include the melodic interludes that intersect the gruesome distorted passages on Ledena Palaca, as well as the opener Iz Magle and several other tidbits on what is now established as a definitely great album in the less technical-centered part of the post-black metal movement.

8/10


Released in 2018 independently

Links

No comments:

Post a Comment