Review by George Stiglic on May 4, 2025.

Surely, many people must know this album cover - and the album itself. It has millions of views on well-known metal YouTube channels. But does that actually prove the music’s quality? In my humble opinion, no.

This is one of those hype trains where everything is flawlessly executed - the cover art, the marketing strategy, the SMM specialist’s work, the musicians' image. Yes, all of it is brilliant. But the music? Well… there’s practically none. Just a cheap imitation. A pile of black metal cliches, chaotically and absurdly crammed into an hour-long album. I finally caved and listened to this “masterpiece” a few years ago after its cover art started haunting me, popping up in YouTube recommendations, plastered across Russian social media as concert ads. Being an old-school, conservative metalhead, I’m naturally skeptical of trendy subgenres like depressive, atmospheric, and post-black. Sure, I’ll give bands from these scenes a shot - if the music is actually worth it.

But Put’ (Path) is musically… nothing. The band members clearly have some technical skill - enough to play these songs, at least. But there’s nothing interesting here. Honestly, while listening to this album, I forgot all my problems - because I had just one dream: for it to end. Describing utterly dull music is tough, but here’s the gist: two guitars, polyphony, occasional clean delay parts. The Russian-language vocals are painfully weak, so weak that the sound engineer clearly noticed and doubled them in some parts, mixing standard pitch with a lower one to barely prop them up. As for the unconventional touch? An accordion. No idea why it’s there. It doesn’t fit the mix, adds zero intrigue, and looks downright silly in photos.

Now, the image - for teens (especially girls) it might seem dark and edgy. I, however, suspect the hoods are hiding a distinct lack of long hair. The lyrics? Meaningless drivel, a jumble of seemingly poetic imagery. You could start reading any song’s lyrics from any point - you still wouldn’t grasp a thing. In short, yet another Russian band that prioritized image, PR, and marketing. And credit where it’s due - they nailed it. Achieving this level of recognition with zero interesting material is… impressive. This album might appeal to teens who just got into metal and haven’t yet developed standards. But for someone who knows what good metal sounds like? Not a chance.

Rating: 1 out of 10

Review by Lawrence Stillman on May 4, 2025.

If angels have harps, the Devil plays the violin, then Death would probably have an accordion.

This debut album of this Russian post/atmospheric black metal band manages to carve a niche for themselves right off the bat, with the inclusion of an accordion (which originated from Russia, no less) and the lyrics/album name/song titles being entirely Russian. I thought I was high on meth when this album was recommended to me by a Russophobic friend who likes atmospheric black metal like Agalloch, but he insisted me to try this and... Yeah I can see why now.

The songs here are not your standard icy, cold black metal devoid of warmth, but instead it has a specific warmth being brought forth by the accordion. It is not played throughout the entire album, but it is extensively used in certain sections in the album. I would compare this to the violins from Ne Obliviscaris; they won't be around half the time, but when they matter, they REALLY matter. The inclusion of the accordion gives the album's black metal sound another specific layer of atmosphere of winter and sorrow that is rarely seen in atmospheric black metal albums.

The drums and guitars are still your bog standard black metal stuff, the tremolo picks and slower paced blast beats, but what differentiates it from the rest is the second guitar that occasionally plays some post-rock/shoegaze riffs that change the context of the tremelo pickings and blast beats, and instead gives off this feeling of a snowy plain where everything is calm and peaceful. Also, the bass is audible in a black metal album, which is rare, I feel like I have to point that out.

The production is your usual generically clean production that is commonly seen on post/atmospheric black metal, but with how many layers the music itself has, I think it is pretty much required just to hear all the individual instruments.

If you like post/atmospheric black metal but don't want to be seen as a poser because of the trve kvlt fuckheads out there, listen to this album instead, with this being an underrated gem it is, I doubt those elitsts would have heard of this anyways.

Highlights: 'As The Blizzard Sang', 'Bones Of The First Ones', 'Prometheus', 'Cult 1'

Rating: 9.1 out of 10