Reviews: SAT329
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The song we’re about to premiere through a lyric video is one of those which we sometimes accompany with a warning — that you’d better take some big gulps of air before diving in, because it’s so exhilarating on so many levels that you’ll need the extra oxygen. And on top of that we should add the warning to loosen up your neck muscles, because its powerfully hammering grooves will trigger the good old headbang reflex in extravagant fashion.
The song we’re talking about, “Pretium?“, is a powerhouse track from the debut album by Atra Haeresis, an international black/death band that features members from such other projects as Ethir Anduin, Obscuration, and Навьяра, along with mastermind Alexander Dorokhin and a trio of guest performers. The album, named Pretium, is set for a joint release on August 26th by Satanath Records, Kryrart Records, and Death Portal Studio, and a tape edition will also be available through Void Wanderer Productions.
In this new song, whose bleak philosophical lyrics are featured in the video, Atra Haeresis immediately set the hook hard with a big, jolting, neck-bending riff augmented by percussive spasms that foreshadow the brutal battering and crazed riffing to come. The lead guitar spears outward in gloriously feverish fashion, sending the music sky-high (even as it simultaneously pounds like a pile-driver), just as the vocals convert from bestial growls into intense, sky-bound wails.
The guitars seem to scream, bridging a line between electrifying ecstasy and nerve-shredding fear, propelled by vivid bass tones and drums that blister and clobber in ruthless fashion. The song becomes a tornado of fire, but in the midst of that fantastical maelstrom the band still give your neck no chance to relax — the highly headbangable grooves are too compelling for that.
But a brief reprieve of sorts does eventually arrive. The drums ebb, the bass more prominently surfaces, and the dissonance of the guitars creates a feeling of eeriness — a feeling that intensifies as the drums mount a new surge and a weird and wailing guitar solo rises. And then the song hammers and harrows again, reaching a truly breathtaking crescendo of instrumental explosiveness.
The album’s fantastic cover art, which plays a prominent role in the video, was created by Vladimir “Smerdulak” Chebakov. It will be released on pit-art CD in a jewel-case edition with an 8-page booklet, limited to 500 copies, as well as digitally.
https://www.nocleansinging.com/2021/07/15/an-ncs-video-premiere-atra-haeresis-pretium/
Screen.
https://www.dargedik.com/2021/08/atra-haeresis-pretium-2021-resena.html?m=1
A dagger plunged. A beating heart removed. A crowd roaring for the sacrifice. The action/thriller film Apocalypto explicitly recreates Aztec sacrifices in one of the movie’s most intense sequences. International death/black metal project Atra Haeresis repurpose some of that footage in the lyric video for their second single. “The Sacred Games” is one of the highlights from the band’s upcoming debut album Pretium. Satanath Records joined forces with German label Kryart Records and Death Portal Studio from the USA to release this record later this month on August 26th.
“The Sacred Games” feels harrowing from the first rumble of bass and the eerie guitar leads. While Alexander Antygi’s guitar rips flesh like a sacrificial blade, the kick-drums pummel with underlying dread. The grim snarl from Sergei Ambrazevich is the perfect narrative voice for the song’s exploration of religious barbarity through the ages. At the 2:30 mark the song segues into a meditative whisper that builds tension and suspense. A blast erupts from the quietness that carries the song to it’s final breath.
Sacrifice your next four minutes to the bloodthirsty gods of extreme metal and press play below to listen to Atra Haeresis.
https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2021/08/04/track-premiere-atra-haeresis-the-sacred-games/
Today’s review is of International Blackened Death Metal band Atra Haersis’ debut album.
This release displays furious riffs in a violent way that are nonetheless juxtaposed with dark melodies that give a sort of mysticism to the music (especially when combined with the vocals), much like other modern bands that complement their aggression with beauty for an occult result. Imposing Black Metal’s obscurity upon the progressive possibilities of their Death Metal side, the band achieve an ominous opus that may absorb the listener into a world of doom.
Perhaps a good way to describe their personal sound would be by posing it as a mix of the hypnotic effect of Atmospheric Death Metal combined with a wretched and dissonant blast of Blackened Death Metal that adds the otherwise absent aggressive side to produce something enigmatic and undeniably extreme. Though perhaps it may feel somewhat short, the full-length is pretty intense. My personal highlights are “Man Through Epochs” and “Aendor Witch”.
I recommend this album to fans of Blackened Death Metal, Atmospheric Death Metal and Melodic Black Metal.
https://www.bathoryzine.com/2022/01/atra-haersis-pretium-review-by-varg.html
Aus den düsteren und zu dieser Zeit frostigen Wäldern Osteuropas kommen ATRA HAERESIS, die noch in den sonnigen Tagen des Jahres 2021 ihr Debüt veröffentlichten. Das Ganze hört auf den Namen “Pretium“, ist mit sechs Titeln gespickt und kommt auf eine Laufzeit von 30:29 Minuten.
Das Quartett zelebriert angebranntes in melodisch düsterer Form, aber ich würde es noch ein wenig um progressives erweitern, aber das entscheide jeder für sich selbst. “Hatechrist” lässt wuchtig energiegeladen die Drums allein eröffnend zu Wort kommen, um sich dann im folgenden mit allem anderen zu vereinen und so das Infernale freizulassen. Melodiebögen treffen auf boshaft vokalistisches, schrampfendes auf dunkles und gesprochenes, mal schweres, mal gewaltig austeilendes wechseln sich ab. Der Song bietet viele Facetten, die mir richtig gut gefallen.
“Man Through Epochs” – Blastbeats und eine enorme fantastisch spielerisch dargebotene Wucht durchfluten mich, die Mittig leider vorerst abrupt endet. Sich wieder stetig den Weg bahnend geht es damit weiter, womit ich anfänglich so schön umhüllt wurde. Der Song ist ein Knochenbrecher, den ich in vollen Zügen genieße! “Vaunted Dyer“, schwer und fast episch schleppt er sich mit dem entsprechenden “choralem”, dem dämonisch vokalistischen und einer vereinzelten Sprachsequenz durch die mit Nebel durchflutenden schwarzen Täler, baut dieses wunderbar musikalisch auf und Erinnerungen an Immortal und Abbath kommen in mir hoch (nicht mir kommt was hoch…..zwinker).
Die Hälfte ist Geschichte und so startet “The Sacred Games” den zweiten Teil bleischwer mit den entsprechenden Riffs und Tremolos, kommt aus sich heraus, forciert das Tempo, Double Bass ertönen und der dunklen Akustik wird der Weg geebnet. Dieser ist kurz, wird verdrängt von teileweisen Blastbeats und so finden die heiligen Spiele ihr jähes Ende. “Pretium” ist schon fast, in einigen Phasen für mich Progressive unterwegs, bietet aber weitere vielfältig anders gestaltete, schwarze und rasante Momente und ein wenig Klargesang ertönt zwischenzeitlich.
“Aendor Witch“, ich denke es geht hier thematisch um die Totenbeschwörerin oder auch Hexe von Endor aus dem ersten Buch Samuel der Bibel, fährt unterschiedlichste Kaliber, mal kleine, mal große auf, gönnt sich des Öfteren die Stille und bietet durch seine Vielschichtigkeit unterschiedlichst atmosphärische Augenblicke, bis hin zu einem Zweiklanggesang.
Damit endet es. Für mich hätte das Album gerne länger gehen können, ist es doch mit etwas über dreißig Minuten doch sehr kurz, aber der Anfang ist zumindest gemacht.
Fazit: Meinerseits eine schwarze Neuentdeckung, mit einem ganz starken Debüt! Was will ICH mehr…
https://www.hellfire-magazin.de/atra-haeresis-pretium/
ATRA HAERESIS play a classic fusion of death and black metal. The band has an international lineup which consists of Alexander Dorokhin who is responsible for the songwriting, Sergei Ambrazevich on vocals, Alexander Antygin on guitars, Alexey "Fenrir" Veselov on the bass. Also there is a number of guest appearances on other tracks. Artem Kovrigin and S.Krysenko (Sergius Proprius) have written the lyrics for Man Through Epochs, Pretium and Aendor Witch. The debut album of the band titled “Pretium” was released via Satanath Records (Russia), Kryrart Records (Germany), Death Portal Studio (USA) and Void Wanderer Productions (Netherlands) on the 26th of August 2021.
The sound production performs high quality but definitely it is not overproduced. This style of sounding death black metal can be considered old-school. The songs are catchy, heavy and very dynamic. Behemoth, Belphegor, Dissection, Septic Flesh, Rotting Christ as well as Dark Funeral and Vital Remains come to mind when listening to this album. The slower and more atmospheric change of pace on songs like Vaunted Dyer even has hints of Opeth and Katatonia to it, with a superb atmospheric solo in it. Overall the highlights of the album are Vaunted Dyer, Pretium and Aendor Witch.
Aendor Witch has especially strong Septic Flesh influences, a very dark eastern ethnic aura is surrounding the song. Cover artwork was done by Vladimir "Smerdulak" Chebakov, it has a surreal horror vibe to it and fits the music perfectly. Looking on the cover and listening to the music brings to the mind the works of Clive Barker and Howard Lovecraft as well as some more obscure authors like Sadegh Hedayat (on the more eastern sounding tracks). Overall it is a solid high quality album and a must-listen for anyone into black or death metal.
https://iratusvoxzine.blogspot.com/2021/10/atra-haeresis-pretium-deathblack-metal.html?m=1
Video review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiEPS_IVroc
Atra Haeresis are an international band with members from Russia and Belarus and plays a brutal and melodic mixture of black and death metal and this is a review of t heir 2021 album "Pretium" which was released as a joint effort between Satanath, Kryart Records and Death Portal Studio.
Drum beats start off the album before going into a very fast and brutal direction which also uses a great amount of blast beats. When guitar solos and leads are utilized they are also done in a very melodic style while the vocals are a mixture of black metal screams and death metal growls and the riffs also add in a decent amount of melody.
Throughout the recording you can also hear a decent mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts while spoken word parts can also be heard briefly. Throughout the recording you can also hear a decent mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts along with the tremolo picking also giving the music more of a raw feeling when it is utilized as well as a couple of tracks also introducing clear vocals and clean playing onto the recording and a brief use of female vocals can also be heard on the closing track.
Atra Haeresis plays a musical style that takes a very melodic and aggressive form of black metal and mixes it with brutal death metal to create a sound of their own. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover Darkness, Necromancy, Occultism and Anti Religion themes.
In my opinion Atra Haeresis are a very great sounding melodic and brutal mixture of black and death metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band.
http://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.com/2021/12/atra-haeresispretiumsatanath.html
Multinational band Atra Haeresis are out with the album "Pretium", and metal is the style of music explored on this production. Extreme metal is the orientation of choice, and it is a rather relentless variety of the form that is explored on this production. The level of intensity is fairly high throughout, with the majority of the compositions staying within a medium to high tempo, with the drums used to raise the intensity levels in the pacier passages in particular. We do get some harmony overlays though, and there's a fair number of calmer and slower interludes with more of an atmospheric and even delicate and fragile orientation that provided variety as well as a brief pause from the otherwise intense compositions. The vocals are more of a raspy shouted variety than growling, with very occasional clean vocals making an appearance. An album to seek out by those who enjoy extreme metal that is loud and intense but with some dynamic features providing a bit of variety.
https://www.facebook.com/wildernessviking/posts/4943122982452695
So my first pick is from the latter end of 2021, but how could I resist its blackened charms? If melodic black metal shot through with elements of death metal is your thing, then you could do a lot worse than pick up this little gem.
The songs are furious and brutal, but this is balanced with melody, nuance, and atmosphere. The band know how to write for the style, and the songs have a variety of creative ideas and melodic hooks to keep you close. It’s a well-written and enjoyable album, and with a duration of only 31 minutes, it’s easy to get to grips with.
Музыканты играют экстремальный метал по-разному: кто-то намерено придерживается олдскульного саунда, дабы не отходить от традиций и воздавать дань уважения отцам-основателям, кто-то экспериментирует без перебоя и отходит так далеко в сторону авангарда, что уже невозможно понять, что именно коллектив играет, кто-то занимается примитивизмом и намерено доводит свою музыку до наиболее прямолинейной вариации... Однако такие группы как Atra Haeresis не подаются ни в какой из вышеописанных абсолютов - у них в песнях есть всё и по-немногу, но самое главное - они пишут по настоящему классные песни. И их свежий альбом "Pretium" является прямым доказательством этого утверждения.
На первый взгляд ребята из Atra Haeresis играют ничто иное как очень эффективный микс дэта и блэка - их вполне можно сравнить с такими западными и раскрученными коллективами как Septic Flesh, Behemoth и Belphegor. При этом музыканты не слепо копируют чужие достижения и наработки, но с самого начала находят своё уникальное звучание, являющееся синтезом старого и нового подхода к экстремальному металу. С одной стороны, Atra Haeresis вполне можно назвать последователями классического экстремального саунда, но, с другой стороны, они звучат очень и очень актуально для современного времени, в основном за счёт очень современных и зачастую даже металкоровских и дэткоровских риффов.
Однако всё это это лишь на первый взгляд, ибо если вслушаться в альбом более внимательно, то уже на таких номерах как "Vaunted Dyer" наблюдаются элементы прогрессивного метала - того самого, который мы видели на наиболее известных альбомах Opeth и на первом EP Wolverine. Вместе с тем на других треках вполне можно расслушать тёмные восточные интонации, которые навеяли мне мысли о греческой экстремальной сцене, а то есть о таких культовых коллективах как Rotting Christ и Necromantia (ну... их альбоме "Crossing The Fiery Path"). В общем, соскучиться здесь практически невозможно, ибо Atra Haeresis ловко жонглируют жанрами и интонациями, а их песенная подборка наполнена динамикой и энергетикой.
Очень радует сведение альбома, которое светится профессионализмом, но при этом не нервирует своей излишней выхолощенностью. Гитары достаточно тяжелые, ритм-секция прослушивается без проблем, а вокал занимает почётное срединное место, не особо выдаваясь вперёд и не теряясь на фоне музыкального шума. Парадокс, но даже если эти преимущества и кажутся очевидными и должны бы де-юро применяться ко всем без исключения музыкальным коллективам, но на российской сцене (да и на международной тоже) очень сложно найти молодые коллективы с достойным саундом. А вот Atra Haeresis не разочаровывают - если бы я не знал всей подноготной, то я бы предположил, что это никакая не группа, а внезапный проект уже состоявшихся музыкантов из экстремальной среды.
Так что если такой зачин, то каково же будет продолжение... Это нам ещё предстоит выяснить в будущем!
https://vk.com/wall-112446894_47639
The realm of blackened death metal is a fascinating one. With elements from both the genres combining together - I feel it is always more about the listening experience than the technicalities. Atra Haeresis is an international death/black metal project performed at the intersection of the Scandinavian and European ancestors of the genre. Their debut album “Pretium” promises to be filled with quintessentially rich musical elements, and I am here to talk about it.
Starting off with marching drum fillers, the opening track "Hatechrist" showcases some intense dark melodies with groovy double bass on drums. With tremolo riffs, the song contains many dynamic shifts, even instances of soft sections with chanting vocals on top. Later-half of the track showcases some fast sections of blast beats and double bass of black metal. The lows and chants of vocals will definitely haunt you for a long time! “Man Through Epochs” channelises riffs which are a mixture of Hath and Akhlys, while drums blasting beneath it. Along the two-minute mark, the track showcases sonic shifts with breathing in new energy after a pause. The use of dissonance chords and trem-picking dominates the song throughout.
“Vaunted Dyer” showcases caveman styled riffs with blackened phrasings in the style of Behemoth. Halfway through the song features clean guitar emulating psychedelic effect followed by a melodic guitar solo. The outro section features probably the catchiest riff of the album - which is gonna stay with the listener for a long time. With “The Sacred Games” leading us into the second-half of the album, the track focuses much on atmospheric building with catchy melodies embodied in it.
The title-track “Pretium '' has a thrashy vibe to the riffs with mesmerizing clean vocals in the chorus - something unique and not heard of in the album before. The song has a persistent hardcore-thrash vibe to it. That being said, unlike the other songs, this track pretty much leaves behind the black metal influence. The closing track “Aendor Witch” proceeds with the blackened phrasings of the riff. Halfway through the song, the band resets the momentum with drum filler and vocal melodies coming together, gradually building up to a climactic ending with a plethora of epicness!
“Pretium” is a very dense record. The guitars - with its brutal caveman riffs and having a harsh tone to it affects the mood of the record to a drastic effect. The drums also do a lot of heavy lifting. Having a punchy quality to itself, the drums almost blast through the intense moments while maintaining a sense of groove in later sections. The vocals show a great range too - from the lows in style of Nergal to choir vocals, and sometimes clean too - it does the perfect job to elevate the listening experience! In short Atra Haeresis sets themselves up to be an excellent band with “Pretium” being a memorable record.
https://metalgenesis.blogspot.com/2022/02/pretium-atra-haeresis-review.html
Si vous êtes en recherche permanente de nouveauté du côté du black metal à tendance mélodique, alors les Russes d’Atra Haeresis, via leur premier album « Pretium« , pourraient vous surprendre.
Et notamment parce que si j’ai effectivement bien utilisé l’adjectif « mélodique » pour décrire les six titres présentés ici, cela n’en fait pas pour autant une musique dénuée de rapidité et de puissance. A ce titre, les blasts du batteur sont particulièrement efficaces, placés aux bons endroits pour en décupler l’effet. C’est d’ailleurs très souvent lui, à mon sens, qui fait décoller les compositions et les emmène à un niveau qu’elles n’atteindraient pas sinon : plus de densité, plus d’impact, plus de présence.
Si les trente minutes que dure « Pretium » ont tout du déjà entendu, le niveau reste suffisamment bon pour mériter une écoute un peu poussée. C’est propre, c’est carré, on sent les musiciens aguerris et sûrs de leur propos.
http://www.soilchronicles.fr/chroniques/atra-haeresis-pretium
Atra Haeresis es un proyecto internacional que reúne a músicos de Belarús y Rusia, que editó su álbum debut Pretium el 26 de agosto de 2021 a través de Satanath Records, Kryrart Records y Death Portal Studio, y se contempla una edición en cassette que estará disponible a través de Void Wanderer Productions. La banda cuenta con miembros de otros proyectos como Ethir Anduin, Obscuration y Навьяра, junto con el cerebro Alexander Dorokhin y un trío de artistas invitados.
Este primer material tiene una atmosfera melódica en las canciones sin dejar a un lado la agresividad del black y el death metal, con tiempos que serán adecuados para amantes del género, la batería y las guitarras son los elementos que predominan a lo largo del disco con vocales que no decaen ni decepcionan. Todo el álbum genera la sensación de que lo único que hizo falta, fue que tuviera algunas canciones más para poder redondear este magnífico trabajo. Sobre todo, por la duración que es apenas de media hora con temáticas referentes a la Filosofía e Historia. Este álbum debut lo único que genera es un agradable pensamiento de como serán las siguientes entregas
Como una extensión de este lanzamiento se tienen referencias audiovisuales como lo es el video de la canción Pretium que indudablemente nos obliga a calentar los músculos del cuello para poder aguantar el movimiento al que nos invitara con su estructura.
La fantástica portada del álbum, que juega un papel destacado en el video, fue creada por Vladimir “Smerdulak” Chebakov. Se lanzará en CD en una edición de estuche con un folleto de 8 páginas, limitado a 500 copias, así como en formato digital.
Siempre resultará interesante y emocionante, encontrar nuevas propuestas que, aunque necesitan tiempo y más material para segur reflejando el talento, se valoran en demasía porque suman a una escena que requiere de nuevos exponentes que renueven y traigan nuevas ideas para que sigan creando un universo cada vez mayor de nuevas propuestas, sobre todo por la mezcla melódica del material. Desde luego que este debut es prometedor, pero necesitaremos ver si no queda en la misma línea de bandas que se diluyen después del debut que promete. El tiempo tendrá la última palabra.
https://tracktohell.com/atra-haeresis-pretium-2021/
If you didn’t catch this first song when we premiered it last year, you’d better take some big gulps of air before diving in, because it’s so exhilarating on so many levels that you’ll need the extra oxygen. And on top of that I would add the warning to loosen up your neck muscles, because its powerfully hammering grooves will trigger the good old headbang reflex in extravagant fashion.
2021 was the year in which Russian/Belarussian melodic black/death metal quartet Atra Haeresis released their debut album Pretium. It saw the light of day last August on CD, tape and digital formats via Death Portal Studio (USA), Kryrart Records (Germany), Satanath Records (Russia) and Void Wanderer Productions (Netherlands). I've read some really positive things about Atra Haeresis recently, so this should be a lot of fun!
It’s blowing an absolute gale outside this evening, as a storm’s hit us. As much I like the sound of the wind outside, I also like to drown it out on occasion with metal and this evening I have the company of death/black metal band Atra Haeresis and their 2021 album Pretium. The sound on opener ‘Hatechrist’ is a great mix of brutal and melodic death metal, with blackened tones thrown Into the mix too. The drumming stands out instantly. The bass weaves a nice low-end groove while the guitars move between riffs of up-tempo destruction and simple, catchy treble. The vocals are growled with intensity and precision, very much in a modern way. ‘Man Through Epochs’ comes at you in a much more bombastic, black metal fashion. Not symphonic but rhythmic and colder somehow. As before, the tempos are ridiculous and the lead riffs are proper earworms. There’s an atmospheric, anticipation building pause near the mid-point, where the song drops down a notch. It builds back up again though with the help of a classy guitar solo later on, ending how it began with no nonsense.
The band’s clinical touches are more obvious on ‘Vaunted Dyer’, with it’s precise instrumentation early on with a mix of harsh vocals and almost esoteric clean chanting joining them. Sometimes, Atra Haeresis remind me of Melechesh in their delivery and that’s a plus point for sure. Obviously the black metal influence is greater here, yet it doesn’t overpower the album and Atra Haeresis still sound approachable, even for those who are yet to venture down the extreme path. Things are different on ‘The Sacred Games’ though as straight from the off there’s much more immediacy from the quartet. That immediacy is replaced by a more stripped back mid-section, with quieter dynamics and almost whispered vocals, which sound very haunting before the dial is turned up again for a rousing finish.
Penultimate song ‘Pretium?’ (Is there supposed to a question mark there?) is a modern metal classic in the making with more memorable riffs and clever melodic vocals jostling for space alongside the band’s pummelling drums and rhythmic low-end. Despite it’s shorter length, ‘Pretium?’ Is teeming with plenty of pleasing layers that make it sound much longer than it is. I’m hearing some Germanic influences here too. Album closer ‘Aendor Witch’ is the metallic, angular hymn that was always destined to conclude this release. It’s once again filled with precise hooks and fantastically solid metal. There’s a huge amount to love about this record. It’s the perfect example of why you should give unfamiliar bands a chance. Atra Haeresis have a very bright future (musically) and I for one can’t wait to hear more.
http://www.thisnoiseisours.com/2022/02/atra-haeresis-pretium.html?m=1