KOSTNATěNÍ

Yes you read correctly. KOSTNATĚNÍ hails from Minnesota in the USA but adopts Turkic folk scales into his technical black metal furor and although black metal lyrics are rarely intelligible without the proper written accompaniments, in this case D.H. has found a unique gimmick by screaming, rasping and wheezing his blasphemous subject matter at full decibelage in the national tongue of what is today the Czech Republic leaving us only to speculate his true heritage and why anyone would even bother unless they were already well steeped in this tiny niche in the greater Slavic family of languages.

ÚPAL features seven tracks that see session drummer Andrew Lee of Azath, Disincarnation, Ghul, Ripped To Shreds, Serpent Rider and Skullsmasher at the percussionist's throne and delivers some drum kit abuse par excellence giving the album more of a band effect than would otherwise be reflected by the mere backdrop of programmed drum machines or a lesser talent. As far as the rest of the instrumentation goes, D.H. proves to be a beast on guitar, bass and tortured vocals thrashing around like a hideous monstrosity from Hades itself where he found the portal into our world and is now engaging in aural atrocities.

While KOSTNATĚNÍ may at times evoke a deep sense of Deathspell Omega worship as heard on classic recordings such as 2010's "Paracletus," this act keeps itself relevant and out of the clone labeling department by distinguishing itself with the lush exotic musical arrangements as heard in Anatolian rock, folk and all things inherited from the former Ottoman Empire. The fusion is seamless with blistering jittery riffing frenzies doused in dissonance and utter evil commingling effortlessly with the pleasing Turkish sounds of the Orient. The blistering abuse and bantering bravado take up a traditional album's length of nearly 39 minutes no weak spots warranting an early departure.

While the black metal churns on like the most frenetic of the lot, the moments of slower folk-fueled moments such as the opening parts of the track "Opál" allow a bit of a break from the boisterous bleakness of the sonic raping of the senses. While the Deathspell Omega influences can be a bit in your face with those infamous jangle guitar tones and jittery math rock unease, D.H. manages to walk a pretty decent tightrope act between the two opposing forces that make an unlikely truce in the sonic war at play. For my liking this is an excellent album that cuts through the din of the competition to stand out in one of the metal world's most crowded nooks. Each release showcases an increase in competency and originality so it's fair to say that KOSTNATĚNÍ is only getting started.

"Oheň hoří tam, kde padl" which is Czech for "The fire burns where it fell" is D.L.'s third release as KOSTNATĚNÍ following his debut EP in 2018 and the so-far only full-length "Hrůza zvítězí" from 2019. This short but caustically sweet experience features only three tracks that steal 19 minutes of your life energy but oh what fun it is to be suffocated by such sonic renderings. This is the kind of DSO inspired orotundity that delivers all of those ominous dissonant microtonal yet existential moments of proggy black metal ferocity and then fortifies them with the ancient pacifying sounds of traditional Turkish folk music.

Extreme black metal mixed with traditional folk music is nothing new under the sun but when integrated together competently can be utterly brilliant and KOSTNATĚNÍ has indeed not only mastered the art of the most brutal aspects of technical black metal but the sensual musical approach of Turkish folk sounds. This isn't one of those Secret Chiefs 3 inspired projects that adopts traditional musical instruments from other cultures. No way. This is a brutal black metal release that just happens to forge all that chaotic causticity into a Turkish musical procession. Sort of like what BaK is to classic heavy metal with its Middle Eastern folk sounds, KOSTNATĚNÍ has proved that there are many other metal hybridization possibilities to be found.

All in all this is an extremely interesting example of ethnically infused black folk metal at its finest. There is no compromise in the black metal department as D.L. has mastered the art of DSO's jangled guitar fueled tech black metal perfectly and the added elements of the timeless sounds of Turkish folk found in the mix offer a bizarre clash of two disparate titans. This is the kind of gem that immediately makes me want to track down the other releases because it's just that appealing. While folk metal can become a bit cheesy if overdone, the Turkish folk elements are more subtle than domineering. This is a brutal black metal release through and through.