Poland is currently a hotbed of extreme metal and has produced an amazing array of original and inventive bands. Thankfully, we have the Godz Ov War Productions record label to document the scene, and they’ve been releasing some stellar stuff of late, such as the sophomore album from Absque Cor. Titled Na zawsze cieniem… this album features half a dozen tracks of the very best in black metal and is sure to take the artist known as Absque Cor on an amazing journey.
Formed in 2015, Absque Cor is the name of the project formed by the mysterious and enigmatic artist who is cryptically known as “Vos”. As a one man army, Vos plays everything on this album, and it is an approach of which I very much approve. It’s a modus operandi which ensures that the whole project is unified by a singular vision, it focuses all the energy into a red hot laser beam, and that makes for a highly impactful listen. That’s precisely what’s on offer here, and if you need proof then just listen to the opening track ‘Zapaść’. Translating as ‘Collapse’, this isn’t music made for the faint-hearted, and Vos builds a sound that weighs like the world on Atlas’ shoulders. The guitars have plenty on the bottom end and seem as if they have been dredged up from the depths of Hades, while the drums hit with force, and are driven home like nails in a coffin. It’s here where that sole vision really comes into play; there isn’t several musicians all pulling in different directions, rather it is a unified force, and one that hits exceptionally hard.
The great thing about this album is that Vos is in no rush; he patiently builds evocative soundscapes by adding layers of sound until the listener is subsumed in his dark world. It is a sound that is always revolving and evolving, taking on new shape like some strange organic creature. There is almost something progressive about tracks such as ‘Nawet nie próbuj’, it is a song of many suites, each markedly different, yet flowing as a collective whole. Vos is an artist who fully understands the dynamics of music, thus light, ethereal passages sit next to the crushingly heavy with each acting as a mirror to highlight and enhance the other. The funereal section at the nine-minute mark is particularly tasty and transports the listener to another dimension, and the whole thing swings like Sabbath on steroids. It is heartening to hear Vos singing in his native tongue, and the Polish language really suits this epic style of black metal, and his vocals act like an extra instrument, and that adds another layer of depth to an already deep sound.
Inventive, but not avant-garde, it’s great to hear an artist putting a new spin on familiar themes, and subsequently this is not only an album that will win Vos fans in the black metal world, but in the wider sphere on heavy metal, too.
- Na Zawsze Cieniem is released via Godz Ov War Productions and is available now (from here).
Track List:
- Zapaść
- Jeden raz za dużo
- Nawet nie próbuj
- Dziękuję że jesteś
- Piosenka o nicyym
- The Sun Of The Dead
