Reviews: 056GD
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As divulged here, Black Cult‘s second album Cathedral of the Black Cult (2016) made me an immediate fan of their talent for discharging satanic black metal with such flair and dynamism. They proved themselves adept at delivering not only swarming malignant savagery, but also mid-paced dissonance and music with a sinister, occult atmosphere laced with highly seductive melodies.
It was thus welcome news to discover that these Croatians would be releasing a new album in 2020. Entitled Nekropola, it has a street date of March 27th via GrimmDistribution and InsArt Records, who recommend it for fans of Mayhem, Satyricon, Dødheimsgard, and Zyklon. And today we’re in the fortunate position of presenting one of the album’s eight tracks, the aptly titled “Cosmic Storm“.
“Cosmic Storm” comes second in the album’s running order, preceded by the opener “Parasite“, which was the first song released to the public from the album. And I suggest you listen to that track first:
As you’ve now discovered if you followed my advice, “Parasite” is a hallucinatory piece of music, one that’s infiltrated with tendrils of strange swirling melody and that switches tempos frequently. It’s rhythms are jolting, slowly head-nodding, and compulsively rocking. It’s emotional components are alternately moody and deranged, narcotic and nefarious. It erupts in flurries of torrential drum blasting and lacerations of scathing riffage, and the vocals themselves range from sober spoken words to blowtorch shrieking.
“Parasite” is both a disorienting and transfixing way to begin the album. It’s a thriller, but also creates intense intrigue about what will come next, because that one song’s permutations are so intriguing all by themselves. What immediately follows is “Cosmic Storm” (a stream of which you’ll find below), and it proves to be just as much of a full-tilt thrill-ride.
“Cosmic Storm” storms immediately, the drums hurtling, the bass maniacally pulsing, the guitars blaring and broiling the senses, the vocals given over to scorching madness. The dissonance in the music channels extravagant madness, an almost ebullient delirium that the rapidly swirling leads only magnify. But of course the band ease back, allowing the bass more prominence and the guitars an opportunity to further twist your mind into a brief moment of dream-like eeriness.
What follows is further madness — amalgams of insectile, skittering strings and jarring grooves, of vehement vocal tirades and almost playful bass lines, of wild balalaika-like soloing and grand melodic fanfares. It’s a rich, multi-layered tapestry of sound — intricate and inventive, and in its own demented way, joyful. And poisonous. And irresistible.
https://www.nocleansinging.com/2020/03/06/an-ncs-premiere-black-cult-cosmic-storm/
Diretamente da Croácia temos o mais novo registro da banda Black Cult intitulado "Nekropola".
Com uma boa base de Black Metal da melhor qualidade, voltam após quatro anos de silêncio eminente (seu último registro, o ótimo "Cathedral of the Black Cult") e conseguem manter a qualidade e versatilidade de seus registros.
O álbum foi gravado no Dungeon Studios (Inglaterra) em 2018/2019 com mixagem e produção por Insanus, contendo ão oito músicas inéditas, com arranjos ultra-agressivos e ainda assim intrigantes, que irão rasgar seus ouvidos e fazer seu coração acelerar ferozmente.
Seguindo com a temática satãnica e com propriedade, abordam temas baseados no reino necrótico do Culto Negro.
A banda tem integrantes de nomes como Zvijer, Unholy Inquisition, Gorthaur's Wrath e Kult Perunov
Se você gosta de nomes como Mayhem, Satyricon, Zyklon, não poderá perder a chance de ouvir!
https://rockvibrationsofficial.blogspot.com/2020/05/black-cult-nekropola-review.html
Croatia's Black Cult have returned with a new recording which continues the raw, melodic and satanic style of black metal from their previous releases and this is a review of their 2020 album "Nekropola" which was released as a joint effort between Grimm Distribution and InsArt Records.
A very dark, heavy and melodic sound starts off the album along with some spoken word parts being utilized briefly. All of the musical instruments on the recording have a very powerful sound to them while the faster sections of the songs also bring in a great amount of tremolo picking.
When tremolo picking is utilized it also gives the music more of a raw feeling while the vocals are mostly grim sounding black metal screams. Throughout the recording you can also hear a decent mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts along with the solos and leads being done in a very melodic style.
A lot of the music goes for more of a modern style along with the Swedish style influences of previous recordings not being utilized as much which also shows the band showing more progress, a couple of the tracks are also long and epic in length and a later song also introduces clean playing onto the album and they also bring in a cover of Hibernum "Fear Is For Fools". The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover Satanism, Luciferian, Occultism, Darkness and Misanthropy themes.
In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Black Cult and if you are a fan of raw and melodic satanic, occult black metal, you should check out this album.
http://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.com/2020/04/black-cultnekropolagrimm.html
There’s nothing quite like digging into the depths of the underground to harvest some of the nastiest black metal on the planet. Unless, of course, it involves going to a country whose metal scene is even more underground, such as Croatia. Hailing from those depths is a project known as Black Cult, making music that gives sensations of helplessness and terror done in an orderly fashion. The upcoming album Nekropola is upon the horizon, but ahead of time, you can get a sense of that with “Likantropija,” the song that I’m serving up today.
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to get caught up in a storm out at sea, this seems pretty damn close to what that would be like. The drum clashes in the first half teamed with whining guitars buried beneath the fog do wonders, all tied together with threatening vocals that hit hard. The ending calms everything, slowing the boil down to a simmer, and throws in some cleaner vocals as well. This group explores all things dark and devious, with an evil feeling underlying the foundation. This is black metal done exceptionally well. So what the Hell are you waiting for? Hit that link down below and travel straight to Hell through the ocean’s darkest depths!
https://www.indymetalvault.com/2020/02/14/track-premiere-black-cult-likantropija/
Third release from Croation Black Metal group Black Cult, four years after their sophomore effort Cathedrals of the Black Cult. That album title might make you think this band is a bit pompous, and if nothing else, Nekropola appears to prove that suspicion correct with its experimental and avant-garde sound that's not too far removed from what Behemoth have been doing recently. On first spin, I found this too distant and strange to be compelling, but repeated listens revealed a lot of ambitious musicianship and complexity that made for a novel piece of morbid, nihilistic Black Metal. The title track alone makes it clear this isn't your average grim nekro whatever Black Metal act, but rather a band that's really pushing to make something that's different and challenging. From where I stand, they've done just that with this unique and brilliantly executed release, and fans of strange, high-quality Black Metal will want to give this album their attention.
https://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/review.php?revid=12146
Croatian Black Metal band Black Cult have recently released their third album, “Nekropola”, remaining faithful to their pure style of the other albums.
With no intros or any place to rest, they deliver powerful, pure, fresh yet classic and quite dissonant Black Metal in exactly the way that is most enjoyable.
Charged with riffs that most musicians can’t manage to make to create in a way that sounds as well and a strong drumming that does not need to permanently rely on blast beats (in fact there are few in this album) to be able to achieve a good background presence. All of this gets combined with a classic voice that does not need any experimentation to fit the music.
This album is intense, and transmits everything that the style requires. It is good to hear decent albums that stick to the formula in these times of excessive experimentation. The songs I would highlight are “Likantropija” and “Parasite”.
I recommend this album to any fan of pure and classic Black Metal, and if you like any of its subgenres you may find it good as well. While being totally pure, it is quite decently recorded, with a good sound but without an overproduction.
https://www.bathoryzine.com/2020/09/black-cult-nekropola-review-by-varg.html
Black metal, contrary to the relatively uninformed opinions of some music critics, is complex, and marked by tremendous passion, unrivaled musicianship, and some of the most viscous, rich music to pump through the body of the global music industry. Black Cult go to great lengths to prove this. With their third effort Nekropola, this Croatian clan infuses a veritable blood bank into their cadaver, engorging its arteries with rage and ritualism, and rejecting the apathetic claims that black metal is a genre of monotony.
Opening track “Parasite” exhibits a dynamic range within its first seconds of life. Complex percussion timings juxtapose against a consistently ominous meandering riff and backing spoken voice, before devolving into blast-beaten pandemonium. Layered guitars scorch through the noise, before being extinguished to bust open oozing licks that bleed molten lava. Lead vocalist Morbid preaches blackened gospel in the style of Erik Danielsson of Watain, expertly igniting breaths of evil that dance around the instrumental inferno. The conflagration continues with second track “Cosmic Storm.” A tornado of guitars touches down with an icy, elongated growl ahead of chunky riffs that stagger down the ladder to hell with step-function precision. Next, air raid sirens of strings heighten Morbid’s brief dive into gutturals. Chaos ensues, driven largely by lead guitarist/drummer Insanus’s knack for thundering power chords and intertwined melodic touches, combined with impressively wielded sticks and kicks.
Black Cult refreshingly intermixes songs written entirely in Croatian throughout the album. Title track “Nekropola” (Necropolis) leads a vibrato-laden jaunt around the cemetery ending in a moderately-paced chorus of anguished shrieks and cries emerging from the depths of the graves. On “Likantropija” (Licanthropy), Morbid unleashes unrefined snarls betwixt threatening chants and haunting whispers to complete the unholy metamorphosis. Finally, “Nistavilo” (Nothingness) drops the hammer on the eardrums with hair-trigger drumming from Insanus, matched note for note on bass guitar by Lesarik.
Standout track “Misanthropic Luciferian Psalm” invokes the same ancient spirit as the infamous Temple of the Black Light itself. Maleficent and prophetic lyrics summon “creatures of night” and “creatures of might” to rise, while brooding melodies lure the listener into the abyss. Extended mid-paced instrumental passages paint an astonishingly apocalyptic soundscape: this is where Black Cult absolutely levitates. As an added bonus, Nekropola includes a cover of the 2003 Hibernum demo track, “Fear Is For Fools.” (Hibernum is the old project of current Black Cult guitarist/drummer Insanus and occasional live Black Cult member Azaghal, who focused on a brilliantly unpolished approach to black metal, just as old masters Darkthrone and Mayhem instructed. In fact, Cold and Worse, the 2003 demo from Hibernum, even included a cover of classic Darkthrone track, “Transylvanian Hunger.”) The modern version of “Fear Is For Fools” is very true to the original in its delicious rawness.
Skillfully multifarious and nefariously willfull, Nekropola is an satisfying coagulation of blood-pumped capillaries and oxygen-starved nerve. Black Cult thrives in layering classic blackened riffs with oddly-rhythmic percussion to create an elaborate body of corporeal glory. Weaving together esoteric themes of misanthropy and modern black metal fury, these Croatians have jolted a powerful black metal Frankenstein to life.
FFO: Watain, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Dark Funeral, Bathory
https://extremeundergroundmetal.com/nekropola-by-black-cult/
Mais uma boa banda da Croácia, os Black Cult que nos trazem um som poderoso que anda algures entre o black e o death metal – a descair para o black. Bruto mas também a recorrer ao midtempo, é variado o suficiente para manter o interesse ao longo dos quarenta e dois minutos que dura. Há alguns momentos de déjà vú e nem sempre as linhas de guitarra a pender (levemente) para as dissonâncias resulta bem, com algumas harmonias a custarem a entrar. No geral o que se tem é bom álbum, o terceiro de uma carreira que está a mostrar evolução. Sólido e indicado para quem gosta dos seu blackmetal pouco ortodoxo.
Хорватская бригада, которая опрокидывает этот мир в стиле, кто бы мог подумать, Black Metal...
Проект BLACK CULT фосфоресцирует во тьме с 2013 года и за это время выпустил три альбома (считая с сабжем). Вроде бы и не много, но когда я открыл профиль Insanus - Drums (2013-present), Guitars, Bass (2013-2014), Guitars (2019-present), то невольно высказался коротко и вроде бы обсценно, и даже не из-за списка групп, где он играл (и побогаче видали), а скорее из-за первой указанной команды и некоторых других, типа Свитогор и Культ Перунов. Вот этот перечень - Ashes You Leave, Czaar, Hibernum, Kult Perunov, Suton, Zvijer, ex-Castrum, ex-Unholy Inquisition, ex-Svitogor, ex-Death of Folk, ex-Gorthaur's Wrath, ex-Balrog, ex-Rampl. Скорее всего, Insanus - один из музыкантов - икон хорватской металлической сцены, и тем интереснее оказалось послушать еще один альбом в формате BLACK CULT (первый не миновал моего проигрывателя). Тут самое место заметить, что и другие участники квартета (как прописано в буклете) довольно-таки известные на хорватской сцене товарищи.
BLACK CULT поклоняется black deаth metal, black dark metal в очень серьезной упаковке, содержании и реализации. И вот второе главное — с самого начала и до финала группа развивает мощное темное давление и поддерживает его на протяжении всего диска. Отрабатывая в основным в мид-темпо и быстрее, команда добивается вполне сознательной четкости в построении музыкальной фразы, отработке внутренних связей и архитектуре своих брутальных композиций. Это я более к тому, что вы с первого раза можете все это услышать — зрелую композиторскую работу (еще бы), личное мастерство музыкантов.
BLACK CULT очень круто прошел по острому горному хребту, с одной стороны которого (слева) истинный блэк металл, а с другой (справа) отрогами жесткий dark metal, (melodic) death metal. Воплощение получилось уверенное и красивое, по нашему металлическому пониманию, внушительное в инструментальном ключе. Тут я даже посмотрел в буклет, кто там валит так немилосердно и мастерски. Он самый — гитарист Инсанус.
Так как Инсанус прочитает этот отклик, отмечу один феномен этого диска BLACK CULT. Вокалист Морбид, как мне показалось, всегда является форвардом материала по части экстремальности. Даже тогда когда инструментал усиливался и разгонялся. Вполне возможно, это так и было задумано, потому что способности Морбида - на очень хорошем блэковом и блэково-трешевом уровне (трэк Fear is for Fools ). Намек достаточно прозрачный. Этот скрим-харш, кажется, доберется до любых меломанских печенок, а главное - вокалист модулирует им абсолютно свободно — настоящий ас.
Кстати, композиция Fear is for Fools - это кавер трэка из демо 2003 года группы Hibernum, где играют Инсанус и Азагал (live-гитарист, указанный в буклете Nekropola). Небольшая промо-акция не повредит ввиду того, что проект Hibernum в 2020 году выпустил сингл.
https://vk.com/wall216331265_4556
Que el Black Metal está brutalmente globalizado ya no se puede negar; el número de escenas y subescenas ha barrido de la faz de la tierra cualquier atisbo de territorialidad de sonido y la palabra mainstream ha perdido su verdadero valor. BLACK CULT desde Croacia (posteriormente mudados a Reino Unido) atestiguan una calidad tan alta que es absolutamente imposible para nuevas generaciones distinguir si su nuevo Nekropola no se trata de uno de los discos pilares del género de allá por los años 90 (más bien finales). Trazas de Gehenna, Satyricon y en definitiva un crudísimo abordaje de las guitarras hacen más que recomendable echarle una oreja a este notable álbum que se han marcado, pero voy primero a presentarlos en condiciones.
Cambios de formación, de lugar de residencia y mil historias desembocan en tres largos que son Neo-Satanism (2012), Cathedral of the Black Cult (2016) y este Nekropola que os presento hoy cuya formación queda establecida con Insanus (Dalibor Franjkić; guitarra, batería y muy activo en bandas como Czaar Zvijer o incluso tocando la batería en los míticos Death/doom Ashes you Leave), Morbid (Igor Kaštelfranko; voces) y Lesovik (Igor Vidaković) al bajo, con el consabido apoyo de músicos de sesión para el directo. En el apartado técnico, pues tenemos un jewel case con el consabido Pit Art de las ediciones de Grimm Distribution, esta vez en coedición con el sello inglés InsArt que básicamente tiene pinta de ser de la misma banda.
El gélido sonido y la límpida producción final son obra de los Dungeon Studios que sinceramente no los conozco y por poner un punto flaco al acabado final, el artwork me parece sencillamente muy justito (siendo benévolo), pero claro, luego arranca ese medio tiempo de "Parasite" y se me olvida la portada. Destaca como he dicho antes el despliegue de las guitarras y un bajo muy bien construído, presente en todo momento y que le da un empaque enorme al sonido. Evidentemente el disco no es original y la sensación de Deja Vú es imposible de alejar... cabalgadas nórdicas, arranques de Blast Beats y en general crudísimo ambiente que en las partes más rápidas pues te traen a la mente a Carpathian Forest... y si no poneros "Cosmic Storm" (me encanta el mini riff de guitarra ultrapegadizo que sale a la superficie en la parte final, minuto 4 o así).
Con todo, pienso que el inicio del disco es lo más flojo y prefiero "Likantropija" que voltea la estructura tradicional del Black enrevesándola bastante y ganando en atmósfera, aunque sobresalen demasiado estructuras de ese Neo-Black a todo trapo de estos últimos tiempos que a mí me aburren bastante. A pesar de la crudeza general, la melodía siempre está presente, al igual que unos trémolos (fluctuaciones) muy curiosas de la guitarra ("Misanthropic Luciferian Psalm") en contraposición a los clásicos arpegios (la homónima "Nekropola" está plagada de ellos).
En definitiva, disco que vas a disfrutar mucho si te gusta el Black Metal crudo, generalmente de tempos rápidos pero que no pierden el Norte (en todos los sentidos de la expresión). No inventan nada nuevo pero para hacerte serrín las cervicales tampoco hay que ponerse exquisito... buen tramo final con la Trashera "Fear is for Fools" (cover de Hibernum), la asfixiante "Ništavilo" (quizás el tema más agresivo del disco) con la batería echando humo y la redención final a través de "Catharsis" que se permite el lujo de bajar un poquito la intensidad al principio antes de disolverse todo en una vorágine nihilista de esas que o te gustan o te aburren soberanamente.
https://lamuerteteniaunblog.blogspot.com/2021/04/black-cult-nekropola-grimmdistribution.html
The disc begins with dubbed voices – something one hears later on Likantropija again – but by and large this is a no-nonsense, give-no-quarters attack of a disc and not one that is prone to wasting time. It is grim above any other adjective and hearkens back to the depths of underground. That means it is more occult, rawer and more stripped down compared to its predecessor. Do not look for any lead guitars as a result of the loss of two guitarists just before the album’s release potentially. The most one gets is guitar doodling like on Likanthropia or at the end of Fear Is For Fools. Speaking of the latter track, it is a Hibernum cover. Who? The other band of Black Cult’s Insanus. Does it count as a cover version if one is playing his own music? Back to the album and, while all speeds and tempos are present, there is less of an emphasis on heavy riffs in favour of tremolo picking and the higher pitches at the expense of the bass guitar. Likantropija is a weaker track despite the chants partly because of something that ails this album: the terrible production of the drums. The band has composed and delivered a punishing album with horrific vocals only to let the hissy production undermine its effort. It is too bad. Nevertheless, powerful tracks like the aforementioned cover version, the riffs on Misanthropic Luciferian Psalm or the mysterious title track deliver for the album and the listener.
http://metallian.com/blackcult.php
I really, really liked the previous BLACK CULT album. That one really impressed me. I hope that this one to will do so. I could do with a really nice slab of extreme metal, preferably of the black kind. Maybe I should have played my previous encounter with BLACK CULT first so that I could compare the two and not just go on my memory of it. Because this wasn’t really what I remembered it to be. I thought I would get a full on attack that left me short of breathe. Instead I get an album with songs that feel like they are dragging a giant anchor down a small alleyway. After the initial disappointment subsided I could start to enjoy this album. And it isn’t a bad album. It is at times brutal. But I cannot help feeling that there are shackles that won’t let it rip the whole in me I expected. I feel something is missing.
Nekropola by Croatian band Black Cult is an extreme black metal album. A high pitched vocals and album production have those frequencies in sound that are very black metal, but there is more to their song writing that I initially though there will be. Black Cult music preference is playing mid-fast songs, music sound quite sinister at some points and relentless for long minutes, at the same time, they have those tendencies in many tracks when they play very dynamic, blazing and complex guitar riffs, something like progressive black metal, but I think better description is that they are more sophisticated musically. Album sounds dark, but also kind of mystical, more universal, like the band wanted seeking for more dimension for their sound and song structures. It`s black metal, leaning a bit toward neo-black metal- many times I felt that they do not try to follow black metal stereotype that much. Songs also have elements of blackened death and melodic death metal. The way they play, it can be sensed that it`s not Scandinavian band, and songs do not sound as much as those bands from that region, at least not entirely. Band plays furiously, you can get few knock downs before you hit the end of the album - when speed and very fast drumming combine, then the power of music sucks you into the eye of the cyclone for crazy and dangerous ride.
Those tracks when Black Cult sounds heavier - but not necessarily like straight forward black metal, is song like Catharsis, here, the blazing guitars blend with more sophisticated riffs, which happen in faster songs too.
Album has a decent production quality, the viciousness of music mixed with band`s hunger for creativity is just as powerful as it could be. Black Cult wants their music to be as interesting as possible and songs like Cosmic Storm, Misanthropic Luciferian Psalm, Nistavilo are my answer that they have certain potential in music, letting them succeed in their efforts.
I recommend this album for you if you are in need for a speed, if you want to hear sophisticated, layered guitar work, and if you want your own senses to be touched by this glowing darkness in their music.
http://monarchmagazine.weebly.com/black-cult-nekropola-grimmdistribution--insart-records.html
The third and most mature album of Croatia's Black Cult is finally here. "Nekropola" consists of eight avant-garde-like black metal songs with over forty minutes of playing time. Its members are Morbid (vocals), Insanus (drums, guitars in studio), Lesovik (bass) and Azaghal (guitars live). The recording trio did an awesome job with all the cuts of "Nekropola". On the one hand, there's a definite Scandinavian touch almost everywhere, which on the other hand was masterfully mixed-up by the elements of abstract and progressive. I would roughly say that in most of the cases it sounds like a cross between Emperor and Coroner, except for the Hibernum cover. Their lyrics were written in both English and Croatian languages. By the way, the use of the latter one adds some extra vibe to the already ice-cold repertoire. "Nekropola" is very technical, profound and unique. So the ones who are constantly in search of new and weird solutions to be applied to the black metal genre will maximally enjoy this album and that's damn sure!!!
http://castrum.com.ua/encomium/7albums1.htm
Kroatialainen Black Cult leikkii kolmannella levyllään “Nekropola” vaarallisilla asioilla aloittaessaan tekeleensä särötetyllä höpinällä: asialla, jota en henkilökohtaisesti siedä lainkaan. Yhtyeen soundi on paljon velkaa Puolan suurbändeille kuten Behemoth, Hate sekä Mgła, joista viimeksi mainitulle huppumaskeista liikenisi varmaan muutamat kunat franchising-imagosta. Black metalissa vallitsee muodin ja trendien lajit siinä missä Milanossakin, sanoivat muut mitä hyvänsä, kyllä se näin vain on.
Jeps elikkäs, Black Cult tarjoaa melodista modernia black metalia omaa nimeään vastaavalla mielikuvituksisella otteella, eli rimaa hipoen keskiluokan kamaa. Nippa nappa. Ei liian lofi, ei liian hifi, ei liian pliisu, ei liian raju.
Levyn kenties paras biisi on “Fear Is For Fools”, mutta tässä pitää totta kai olla muutama hupaisa seikka. Kappale on Hibernum-yhtyeen coveri, joka on Black Cultin pääbiisintekijän sekä kitaristi Insanuksen yksi monesta muusta bändistä/projektista. Voi apua!
Huokaus. Bändin soundia kuvastaa kyllä parhaiten mikäli nuo edellä mainitsemani kolme yhtyettä sulattaisi yhdeksi metal fondueksi ja sitten laimentaisi vedellä aivan liikaa tätä juustoista amalgamaatiota. Haaleita makuja erottelee kyllä, mutta miksipä sellaiseen tuhlaisi aikaansa kun voi käyttää kunansa tai euronsa parempaan goudaan? Kysyn vaan!
https://metalliluola.fi/black-cult-nekropola-2020/