Raven Throne

ATMOSPHERIC BELARUSIAN BLACK METALLERS FINALLY CLICK INTO GEAR

Originally formed in 2004, these Belarusian metallers have released five progressively ambitious albums amid a slew of line-up changes and a nagging lack of direction. Finally, this year sees the band fully realised, with a new vocalist and a transcendent new release in I Miortvym… These six, deeply immersive tracks expertly synthesise funereal acoustic folk passages with chilly atmospherics, blackened buzzsaw guitars and neck-snapping blastbeats, as heard on opener Vietru and the magnificent Imža, I Sklizota, I Prykraja Zol. The gently shifting contrasts between fragile acoustic melodies and dark, bludgeoning riffs creates a real sense of tension and melancholy, and with lyrics inspired by early 20th-century Belarusian poems, the record deftly avoids spiralling into generic atmospheric BM territory. By the end of closer Žyvoj Kryvi Žyvyja Cielcy, hitting repeat and diving back in is a foregone conclusion. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of something lasting.

FOR FANS OF: DRUDKH, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, WOODS OF YPRES