Review by Alex on May 18, 2019.

Lost amidst the sea of black metal releases is Apatheia’s Konstelacja Dziur released in 2018 through Godz ov War Productions. This is the band’s first album launching them into the already crammed to the rim genre. This band of 3 plays a fiery style of militant and misanthropic black metal bringing to rise thoughts of Marduk with their landscapes and machine gun style blast beats. This is a record that implants feelings of agony and hardship by means of nihilistic lyricism and a strengthening guitar leads that have an overcast feeling of despair and urgency. Building in momentum as the record tramples along furiously, a shift in direction is always insinuated, thus widening the peripheral view of Apatheia’s musical outlook. 

“Odmętnia” is pretty much the blueprint of Konstelacja Dziur’s idea. Strong blast beats and passionate vocals branched by waves of tremolo riffs form a sonic collateral swarm of extreme metal. Each emotional element manifested is ushered by a fleet of blast beats; the drummer definitely has a thing for speed, that I can say, however technical ability also comes to front when factoring “Ślepe Oddanie”. A strong entry on the album that paints a conceptual image of inescapable demise, candid pessimism and depression. Manufacturing a mental portrait of a hamster running within a wheel, unconscious and blinded by the illusion of false hope, the common man in his state of ignorance and arrogance is met by the one true thing that is promised. Profound and thought-provoking lyrics greet the listener on each track, compelling him/her to look beyond the veil. In total adoration of how well Apatheia use the guitars to cast multiple feelings to the music whilst maintaining aggression through every beat, I find it impossible to not place Konstelacja Dziur alongside some of my favorite albums of the modern age such as "Exercises in Futility" and "To Those Who Glorified Death".

Konstelacja Dziur is a journey through many emotions, rich landscapes take hold of the atmosphere and changes frequently as though being in a world of seasons occurring at the same time. Although most songs range between four to six minutes I never noticed how time consuming the listening experience was, even on the ten-minute thrills of "Boże Ciało" and "Supernowa". I did notice the lack of variation occurring towards the end that put the record to a stand-still of sorts. This diverted from the movement created thanks to occasional switch in drumming tempos and more, so the guitar leads. However, for the majority, 51 minutes of Konstelacja Dziur went by relatively quickly. Songs like the opener “Odmętnia” to moments on “Raj” and “Zimna krew” ensured that your time would be worthwhile; plus, with the lyrics possessing so much depth, Konstelacja Dziur shun even more brightly. 

A good foot forwards this debut is, however I believe Apatheia is merely finding their comfort zone as I can hear there's potential for more expansive songwriting. I see Konstelacja Dziur as being an experiment of sorts, one that turned out well. There were some instances in which the album could have ended early, but I think Apatheia were simply testing their endurance with regards to how well they could sustain the courtesy of the listener. For their next record I would like more variation in the drumming and riffs. Their method of approach is good but could be ameliorated for better results.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 17, 2024.

Ladies and gentlemen, fasten seat belts, we’re taking off. The space warriors Armory invite us to another adventurous flight. Okay, sometimes speed metal is a slightly dubious pleasure due to nerve-shattering lead vocalist who love high-pitched screams that can make sensitive creatures cry immediately. Aggravating the situation, the guitar lines sound quite happy from time to time. Dudes, if I want to have fun I am going to the cinema. Metal is a serious matter, at least in my homeland where laughing is more or less forbidden.

But Armory are nearly immune against the ugly components of their subgenre. The excellent artork of Mercurion does not promise too much dynamic. The Swedes always keep a close eye on the energetic appearance of their songs. A few strange sounds are not forbidden (in the middle of the powerful 'Deep Space Encounter'), but usually the band walks on the tradional paths of speed metal and traditional metal in general. The songs are not difficult to decode. Nevertheless, they are no musical fast food. Armory dish up a solid number of riffs per song and these riffs, as well as the leads and lines, show a cool understanding of the metallic arts. Accompanied by the somewhat boyish yet passionate vocals, the guitars guarantee a dense, coherent and intensive scenario. Despite some melodic parts, for example at the almost solemn beginning of 'Wormhole Escape', the quintet never neglects the necessary heaviness. And who has said that melodies or solemnity are a bad thing?

The production does not lack robustness and resilience. But the galactic dimension are obviously not totally free from dirty particles. Therefore tranparency is not written in big letters here. However, the marginally blurred appearance of the sound does not prevent a significant impact of the material. And so the guys celebrate some really cool moments with some vibrant riffs. Of course, they do not put new aspects to the subgenre, but a dreamy passage in 'Music From The Spheres' almost builds a bridge to the seventies and some of the slower parts tend towards power metal. Yes, my dear friends who like classic combos like Liege Lord or Savage Grace, this album can be very interesting for you. Okay, the two long tracks at its end are no masterpieces of compactness and the short instrumental 'Transneptunic Flight' does not add a lot to the intensity of the output. But it is also true that every song of the album does not only shine with substance and ambition, but also with power and atmosphere. The latter is not exclusively, but also created by some keyboard sounds, nevertheless it is beyond doubt that the guitars have the dominating part here.

What is left to say? I like the fact that the muscular opener kicks off the album without warm-up period, I appreciate that the band is aware of the importance of some catchy lines from time to time and I enjoy the old school feeling that the material transports. Maybe this is not the soundtrack for my final “Journey to Infinity” (I prefer “Whisky Funeral”, Darkthrone), but Armory send a really strong 'Message From The Stars'. The eighties are long gone, but their spirit seems to be still alive. The spaceship of the Swedes flies through a classic cosmos and I am happy that I was able to sneak on board as a blind passenger.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Alex on October 16, 2019.

Clenched by an atmosphere of woe and worry, Blooming Carrions parts the gravel and thrusts forth with 3 tracks on their EP, Sisters in Blooming Flesh. Cavernous and dismal, heavily accentuated by distortion and blackened drumming, Blooming Carrions may have found a home in my collection. EvM being a member of death/doom band Fervent fronts the project with support given in the bass area by PkE; thus, mentioned I did get the chance to hear his work in Fervent which fell a bit short of my expectations, however this on the other hand has exceeded greatly. Sisters in Blooming Flesh is a 24-minute EP situated in the guts of cavernous and catastrophic death/black metal. Multiple aneurysms of ill-tempered outbursts, tempo changes and variations meet the consciousness of the listener whose veins could not be more abused by this musical crack. No light dare shine upon this raped meadow.

Sisters in Blooming Flesh carries on without a break it seems, flawlessly achieving an environment of hostility mostly and grief within some sections. Like a tale the songs develop along the way, steadily toggling back and forth between agony and rage. Reminiscent of a battle occurring under water, with two emotions; anger having the upper hand most times; just as the melancholy is about to raise its head for some air above the troubled sea, its pulled to the depths once again by the overpowering vice of loathe. Title track 'Sisters of Blooming Flesh' and 'Enchantment of Slaughtering' repeat the effects this creates; a feeling of turmoil, discomfort and lack of control batters the psyche mercilessly. Grazed by guitars tossed around in winds of melancholy and fury, tremolo picking is met with the gnarly touch of distortion ever menacing in its attempt to submerge whatever sentimental emotion is presented. Drums act in coordination with the dominant emotion at the time, thus having to adjust technique to fit the fluctuation.

The production is ideal for this and I'm glad it does not suffer from repetition; there is more than enough here to extract and with it being only 24 minutes, Sisters in Blooming Flesh shoots by before you could grasp a third of what is occurring below the veil. This unholy matrimony of disaster and despondency needs to be heard and should not be taken for granted given the high stagnation of the genre as it stands. Should EvK put more time into this project, its appeal, potential to expand and develop the music into something even more collateral, profound and detailed would come to fruition. The effort here is outstanding and calls for a full length follow up. Set to be released on cd and vinyl formats, November 28th, 2019 through Iron Bonehead Records, add Sisters in Blooming Flesh to your cave; an uproar of madness awaits.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by Alex on October 16, 2019.

Clenched by an atmosphere of woe and worry, Blooming Carrions parts the gravel and thrusts forth with 3 tracks on their EP, Sisters in Blooming Flesh. Cavernous and dismal, heavily accentuated by distortion and blackened drumming, Blooming Carrions may have found a home in my collection. EvM being a member of death/doom band Fervent fronts the project with support given in the bass area by PkE; thus, mentioned I did get the chance to hear his work in Fervent which fell a bit short of my expectations, however this on the other hand has exceeded greatly. Sisters in Blooming Flesh is a 24-minute EP situated in the guts of cavernous and catastrophic death/black metal. Multiple aneurysms of ill-tempered outbursts, tempo changes and variations meet the consciousness of the listener whose veins could not be more abused by this musical crack. No light dare shine upon this raped meadow.

Sisters in Blooming Flesh carries on without a break it seems, flawlessly achieving an environment of hostility mostly and grief within some sections. Like a tale the songs develop along the way, steadily toggling back and forth between agony and rage. Reminiscent of a battle occurring under water, with two emotions; anger having the upper hand most times; just as the melancholy is about to raise its head for some air above the troubled sea, its pulled to the depths once again by the overpowering vice of loathe. Title track 'Sisters of Blooming Flesh' and 'Enchantment of Slaughtering' repeat the effects this creates; a feeling of turmoil, discomfort and lack of control batters the psyche mercilessly. Grazed by guitars tossed around in winds of melancholy and fury, tremolo picking is met with the gnarly touch of distortion ever menacing in its attempt to submerge whatever sentimental emotion is presented. Drums act in coordination with the dominant emotion at the time, thus having to adjust technique to fit the fluctuation.

The production is ideal for this and I'm glad it does not suffer from repetition; there is more than enough here to extract and with it being only 24 minutes, Sisters in Blooming Flesh shoots by before you could grasp a third of what is occurring below the veil. This unholy matrimony of disaster and despondency needs to be heard and should not be taken for granted given the high stagnation of the genre as it stands. Should EvK put more time into this project, its appeal, potential to expand and develop the music into something even more collateral, profound and detailed would come to fruition. The effort here is outstanding and calls for a full length follow up. Set to be released on cd and vinyl formats, November 28th, 2019 through Iron Bonehead Records, add Sisters in Blooming Flesh to your cave; an uproar of madness awaits.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10