Review by SzejkElRopa on January 17, 2026.

Under the sign of Godz Ov War Productions, Zmarłym has recently emerged in the Polish black metal scene. With 2021's "Druga Fala" and the most recent "Wielkie Zanikanie", they have received critical acclaim and gained popularity in the underground, thanks to their unique style, which combines modern black metal with elements of electronic music. But what about the roots of this hailing-from-Końskie band? "Ziemie Jałowe" is an EP that shows what to (partly) expect from their later releases.

What comes to mind first is the fact that there are no electronic/experimental elements on this EP, in contrast to the later albums. There is, in fact, a little bit of progressiveness - for example, in 'Szuflady', when a track suddenly stops, and a melody with an electric guitar and bass guitar can be heard. This is not common in black metal. But apart from that, this album is the most straightforward, brutal, and unhinged of all Zmarłym releases. This can be heard from the very first seconds of the album, when Andrew's (or Andrzej Kądziela's) terrifying screams appear. Vocals aren't the only brutal part here - in the first track, 'Gdzie Mieszkasz?', for example, the riffs are extraordinarily heavy for black metal. The atmosphere is deathly - not depressive, but certainly apocalyptic - which is reflected in the lyrics. To conclude, "Ziemie Jałowe" shows most of the inner beast hidden in Zmarłym and introduces some progressive elements.

As said before, Andrew delivers his standard vocal performance. He growls and screams in a terrifying, very impressive way, which is like a signature of Zmarłym. In my opinion, he did his best while screaming in 'Szuflady' and 'Wędrowcy'. However, except for 'Wędrowcy', there are no clean vocals, contrary to the later albums, so fans of his clean singing might be disappointed. The guitar work is sophisticated for almost 24 minutes of listening. In 'Gdzie Mieszkasz?', as mentioned before, the riff is very heavy. In 'Szuflady', a tremolo riff can be heard, as well as quieter melodies further in the track. In 'Wędrowcy', the melody played by the lead guitar is standard for modern black metal. The drum work is quite varied: Młody plays blast beats along with quieter parts well. He doesn't overplay, and his drumming doesn't become tedious - thanks to the cymbals, for example. The bass guitar, played by Marcin, can be heard in numerous places - for instance, in the progressive part in 'Szuflady', as well as at times in 'Wędrowcy'.

The lyrics deal with the theme of apocalypse, but not apocalypse in the sense of the pale horse, the number of the beast, the day of wrath, et cetera. Instead, they deal with a personal apocalypse - most likely the one that was felt during the COVID-19 lockdown. These show hopelessness, anxiety, and personal feelings. They were quite hard for me to understand, and I think everybody should read them and form their own interpretation. If you are Polish, you will have interesting material to deal with. Otherwise, it can be hard to translate.

With "Ziemie Jałowe", Zmarłym made a very solid start in the Polish black metal scene. They don't copy anybody and created their own style in their first release. After that, they only got better. I would recommend this EP to people who didn’t enjoy the experimental elements in the later albums. For everybody else, this is a solid album; however, "Druga Fala" and "Wielkie Zanikanie" are simply better.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10