Mental Torment – Dead Shot Revival 9/10
Conceptually covering Ukrainian history of the twenty-first century is Dead Shot Revival. Not so much an album as it is a conceptual piece of art that reflects the world they inhabit, beauty marked by violence, the heaviest of deathened doom metal punctuated by melody. With a revamped line-up that has risen from adversity like a phoenix from ash, the Ukrainian outfit has released a stunning opus, the first in their native language and their third overall.
Truthful and full of emotion ‘INII’ is a track that builds and builds, its growth a multidimensional piece of art that is peppered by anguished vocals, a superb guitar solo escapes the barren yet relentless rhythm that tethers the track to the underground. ‘’Kamin’’ is more inexorable punishment in the grandest of ways, its spoken word a seductive nitro into a keyboard-led expression of utter heaviness and introspection. The keyboards then fly briefly into a cosmic wonderland before they return to a scorched earth. The riffs are as crushing as the expressive and at times gorgeous solos, Roman Kostiuchenko’s native guttural vocals are delivered with utter commitment, and the keyboards are revelatory, lurking, their texture a formidable component to an impressive musical force. ‘’Dym” is a seven minute plus piece of aggressive art that littered with militaristic percussion and the exemplary guitar work of Mykhailo Chuha and Maria Vynohradska is superb. From riff to solo and back again. ‘’Pisok” epitomises the struggle against external forces and eternal defiance against tyranny.
Surprising demanding, and wildly original. Dead Shot Revival is the heaviest of doom metal that expresses the gravitas of the real, punctuated by some haunting melody it is a remarkable thought-provoking achievement that lingers long after it is played, demands repeated listening and deserves to be celebrated as a musical accomplishment.
Def/Light – Frequency of Fear 8/10
Since their formation in 2001 in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. Def/Light over their seven releases have evolved into a studio project that duo Avel and Void promises to plunge the listener into their darkest nightmares with their latest release “Frequency of Fear”.
Def/Light pursue the extremities of modern black/deathened metal in all its uncompromising glory with Avels ( Israel) vocals the embodiment of tortured and aggressive. Void (Ukraine) provides the music, it is a lethal combination that is defined in the excellent “No Exit, No Hope” an excellent piece of modern black metal that pervades the album. ‘’Cult of Nahemah’’ traverses from slow intensity to punishing speed in an instant. ‘’Multidimensional’’ is another masterstroke of vitriol and anger lead by some excellent percussion as it inexorably reaches its inevitable conclusion. Even on the slower ‘’Fatal Touch’’ with its never-ending kick work, the intensity never fades, likewise on ’’ The Bridge’’. “Frequency of Fear” is an album that is relentless and unforgiving.
Utterly uncompromising and riddled with moments of utter intensity Def/Light are afraid to take you onto their realm and leave you in a nightmare from witch there is no possible reprieve or escape. This is excellently recorded black metal distilled into its purest form where aggression and despair are paramount and the music captures the essence of their perpetual nightmare.
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