Review by Michael on May 24, 2026.

Polish Owls Woods Graves were unfortunately under my radar until I watched a YouTube blog about the best BM releases in 2025. And what I have to admit? I fell in love with this ugly piece of black punk instantly. "Strix" sounds just like the album cover makes you anticipate: harsh, raw and unpleasant.

With the vocals more into black metal, the instruments and here especially the drums are more punk-like. In the opener "They Come Again" the guitars are cold and fast and remind a lot of Darkthrone in their "Transilvanian Hunger"-era but soon it all turns into a mishmash of black, hardcore and punk, as I said.

Soon means already the second track "The Aura Of Knives" which comes along with some cool D-beats and gangshouts. Maybe bands like Wolfbrigade or Whiskey Ritual are something that you could call similar to that. For sure, the guys are killing with their music. "Not Entirely Human" is a good example for this. Simple riffs, brutal shouts and fucking catchy melodies that make you instantly bang along (okay, maybe not while you are driving your car but at least you can tap on the steering wheel then).

But Owls Woods Graves can also be quite brutal. "Anarcho-Occultism" is maybe the track with the most brutal drumming, sometimes like a machine gun. Apart from these outbursts there are again very catchy parts with a lot of punk vibes here (not the biggest surprise in a song title with something like "Anarcho" in it) and with "Black Flame In Our Hearts" they have a super melodic, almost pure punk song on board too. My wife said that the basic riff would sound like "Westerland" by German punk institution "Die Ärzte" and the more often I listen to that I would actually agree. Maybe Bela B. would be pleased since he is a huge metal fan, and had a grindcore project named "2 Fickende Hunde" (translate it on your own please!) back in the 90s if I am not totally wrong.

"Say No To Heaven" though is another brutal one with more black influences. I guess this one would be great to see live because I can imagine that the crowd would freak out on that one. Again, simplicity rules here, not to bulky riffs or other arrangements that let you think too much, it's just a gist into your face.

What I also like about "Strix" is the very dynamic production. It hasn't become too sterile or too cold, it has a very good balance between warm and rough so that you still have that certain dirty underground feeling that many bands have lost in their sounds during the last years.

Rating: 9 out of 10 Fickende Hunde