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Wow, this isn't what I expected when I first encountered this album. When I saw the band picture for the first time, along with the name and logo, I thought I was in for some brutally raw black metal in the vein of Marduk or Darkthrone. The biography confirms that this band from Belarus started out as an aggressive and primitive black metal band but slowly evolved into what they are now, an atmospheric pagan metal band, firmly rooted in black metal but no longer limiting themselves to that.
The band seems to honour the wave of the nineties, incorporating a similar style to bands like Children Of Bodom or Cradle Of Filth. The album opens with an impending, ambient-like intro. Then Massenhinrichtung blast out their powerful metal in a highly convincing style. Regular shifts in tempo, vocals ranging from screams to clean, folk arrangements and fierce riffing: all the right elements are present, except for the over-the-top production (which turned the black metal scene into a bit of a joke in the late nineties).
'The Ghost Of Devastated Motherland' turns Massenhinrichtung in a full-blown folk metal band while 'The Blizzard' reaches (old) Immortal-style black metal magnificence. It's quite clear that these guys have a tremendous feel for songwriting, hidden beneath crushing layers of guitards and blast-beats. These songs are strong examples of extreme music and create a unique concept. After all, this is a concept-album about the violent political history of their country. For people who don't speak German, 'Massenhinrichtung' translates to 'mass execution'
In all, I think this is an awesome extreme metal album, incorporating elements from folk, black, doom and progressive metal. Besides raw force, Massenhinrichtung uses a massive amount of melody and harmony, at times reminding me of bands like Evergrey or Nevermore. This combination makes 'The Paths Of Stellar Swamps' my favourite track on this album and an absolutely epic piece of musical story telling. We really are dealing with a brilliant band of highly skilled musicians.
Majestic
Serge
The band seems to honour the wave of the nineties, incorporating a similar style to bands like Children Of Bodom or Cradle Of Filth. The album opens with an impending, ambient-like intro. Then Massenhinrichtung blast out their powerful metal in a highly convincing style. Regular shifts in tempo, vocals ranging from screams to clean, folk arrangements and fierce riffing: all the right elements are present, except for the over-the-top production (which turned the black metal scene into a bit of a joke in the late nineties).
'The Ghost Of Devastated Motherland' turns Massenhinrichtung in a full-blown folk metal band while 'The Blizzard' reaches (old) Immortal-style black metal magnificence. It's quite clear that these guys have a tremendous feel for songwriting, hidden beneath crushing layers of guitards and blast-beats. These songs are strong examples of extreme music and create a unique concept. After all, this is a concept-album about the violent political history of their country. For people who don't speak German, 'Massenhinrichtung' translates to 'mass execution'
In all, I think this is an awesome extreme metal album, incorporating elements from folk, black, doom and progressive metal. Besides raw force, Massenhinrichtung uses a massive amount of melody and harmony, at times reminding me of bands like Evergrey or Nevermore. This combination makes 'The Paths Of Stellar Swamps' my favourite track on this album and an absolutely epic piece of musical story telling. We really are dealing with a brilliant band of highly skilled musicians.
Majestic
Serge