Satanath Records - Reviews: SAT123

Reviews: SAT123

There are some great bands to hear out of Russia’s label, Satanath, but none of them wowed me quite as much as Dalkhu. This Slovenia-based blackened death metal reigns supreme with both harshness and melody. I came across Descend...Into Nothingness earlier this year, but it got buried in the swarm of emails that came around the same time. Fortunately Satanah contacted me by chance, and finally the opportunity to hear this album in full arose.

The intensity of this record is palpable. From the brutal death growls to the ominous blackened death riffs, this is metal heavy enough for the underground, but easy to swallow for the more mainstream Behemoth crowd. These are some truly guttural grunts, but not ever a caricature. No joviality will be found within these 7 performances. They have presence and can be taken seriously. Only the strong will survive.

Guitars have a somewhat folky, Viking feel a la Amon Amarth or early Enslaved. The presentation is just a bit more forlorn. These warriors are riding to kill. There will be no celebration of victory. No songs will be sung of heroic exploits. Jangly high-end tremolo, crunching chords, and some melancholy interludes are a warning cry to all in Dalkhu’s path. The clangy bass and endless pounding of bass and snare compliment eachother well, creating a sense of immediacy.

Tracks like ”In the Woods” feature a more melodic side, but even these alternate between slow, meandering depression and harrowing battle charges. “Distant Cry” has a simple, but extremely catchy riff that fuses Melechesh with Abyssal. In fact, there are quite a few nice little hooks woven throughout this album that will linger with you long after the ash settles. Ghosts of the fallen.

If you were craving something equal parts brutal and contemplative, look no further. Descend...Into Nothingness is 45 minutes of pure blackened death just the way we like it. On August 15 you can name your price for something that is worth every dollar you choose to spend. It’s the hoard for hire. Kill or be killed

metaltrenches

Za izdajo drugega dolgometražca so »koroški« black metalci Dalkhu potrebovali pet let, kar za slovenske razmere niti ni tako zelo dolgo, saj marsikateri band pred svojim drugim studijskim albumom razpade. Podobna usoda je skorajda doletela tudi Korošce, kajti druga izdaja je terjala polovico zasedbe, ki se je od banda iz takšnih ali drugačnih razlogov poslovila. Točni razlogi tako ali tako niso pomembni, saj nismo v kakršni koli poceni limonadi, pomembno je le vedeti, da sta od zadnje »polne« zasedbe ostala le še J. G. (kitara, bas kitara) in P. Ž. (vokal), medtem ko sta predzadnji ustanovni član banda, bobnar Kalki, in nekajletni basist Jurij zapustila skupino v lanskem letu in posledično postavila pod velik vprašaj obstoj albuma Descend... into Nothingness.
Glede na to, da pišem te vrstice, sta J. G. in P. Ž. očitno zbrala dovolj volje in energije, da sta zadevo/album sama speljala do ugleda luči sveta. Pri tem jima je na bobnih na pomoč priskočil Spawn of the Void, tako da ti zvenijo bolj organsko in naravno. Manj naravno, in s tem sem že sredi opisovanja glasbe oziroma v mojih ušesih glavne šibke točke albuma, pa mi zveni vokal. To sicer ne pomeni, da je ta na kakršen koli način računalniško obdelan ali popačen, temveč se mi brutalni growl P. Ž.-ja ne ujema povsem s predstavljenim black metalom, ki kljub moji trditvi presenetljivo vsebuje dobršno dozo death metala. Po eni strani vokal torej ni zmeraj na mestu, po drugi strani pa mi deluje preveč enoličen. Medtem ko so se številni drugi bandi začeli zavedati izraznih razsežnosti, ki jih zmorejo doseči z uporabo različnih vokalov, se mi zdi skorajda nesprejemljivo, da moram na Descend... into Nothingness pogrešati tovrstno pestrost. Sploh (in če temu ne bi bilo tako, vokala niti ne bi omenjal) na podlagi številnih plasti, ki jih album sicer ponuja. Dragi bralci, vokalne »šibkosti« torej ne smete razumeti recimo kot elementa, na katerem albumu spodleti, temveč kot velik kontrast z vidika dinamike in strukture sicer zelo razgibanemu black/death metalu s številnimi vzponi in padci. Dvoglasne kitare, zaznavna bas kitara, decentne orkestracije iz ozadja, kitarske solaže na izbranih mestih, catchy riffi, agresija in umazanija devetdesetih prejšnjega stoletja ter psihedeličnost modernega časa ustvarijo glasbeno sliko, ki v slovenskem prostoru dopolnjuje glasbo trojice Ater Era s Primorske, in dodajajo šarm poljskih Mgła, udarnost finskih Archgoat in še kakšnega bolj »underground« banda, ki ga sploh ne poznam. Za boljšo predstavo o tem, kaj želim povedati, prisluhnite direktnemu udarcu na nos na začetku albuma, z naslovom Pitch Black Cave, ali zaključnima Soulkeepers, ki je tako poseben, da si je prislužil svoj uvod, in E.N.N.F., ki je že zaradi svoje dolžine kategorija zase.
Descend... into Nothingness je torej album, ki bi ga zelo pogrešal, če ga moja ušesa zaradi težav v zasedbi nikoli ne bi uslišala. Po drugi strani pa upam, da se tudi band oziroma njegova preostala dva člana zavedata njegovih šibkih plati in da jih bosta uspela odpraviti do naslednjega albuma, ki bo tretji po vrsti in naj bi potemtakem bil po nekem nepisanem pravilu najboljši. Vso srečo pri tem!

paranoid-zine

Once upon a time I started an irregular feature called “Eye-Catchers” in which I periodically tested the hypothesis that cool album art correlates with cool music. As much as anything else, it was a vehicle for exploring the music of bands I wasn’t familiar with, based solely on the attractiveness of their album or EP covers. There’s still a category link to all those posts on the right side of this page, even though the project has been moribund for quite a while.

This post, though it shares that “Eye-Catchers” title, really isn’t a continuation of the earlier experiment, because I’m already a fan of all the bands whose news and/or new songs are collected below. But the artwork for these new albums is so good that it seemed to be a fitting title. So, here we go….

I originally discovered this two-man Slovenian band in the middle of last month — and that really was an example of the original “Eye-Catchers” experiment. Their second album, Descend… Into Nothingness, features cover art by our beloved Paolo Girardi, and that’s what induced me to explore the music. Having done that (and written about the first advance track from the album here), I immediately became a fan. And so when I learned that Dalkhu released another new song yesterday, I felt confident it was going to be another good one — and so it is.

The latest track is “Accepting the Buried Signs” and it’s loaded with rocking riffs — along with tension-ratcheting bursts of guitar frenzy, body-dismantling percussion, and atmospheric melodic segments. The song is in constant motion, veering rapidly between different riffs, rhythms, tempos, and moods — all the while maintaining an overarching aura of infernal darkness. It’s an incredibly varied and persistently fascinating piece of music, and one more reason to get excited about the album as a whole.

nocleansinging

Emerging from the the small eastern European country, Slovenia, comes the blackened death metal known as Dalkhu. They dub themselves as "sinister metal" due to their distaste for the current black metal scene and maybe that might help them propel their brand of extreme metal towards a larger audience.

They certainly have a sinister sound, one that conjures grim thoughts and evil vibes from its seven crushing tracks. The guitars are raw for black metal and downtuned to oblivion for death metal and they use the combination to their advantage. The sound has the epicness and grandness of the former genre but doesn't make it overwhelming. The instruments provide the perfect backdrop for the deep, very deep, gutteral vocals emitted from the frontman and everything seems to meld and blend very well to create a brutal, heavy blackened death metal record. Though brutal as it may be, some melody creeps its way into some songs, notably In the Woods creates a sweeping canvas of harmony combined with agony. Other songs like The Fireborn aim to make you (forgive me for this) descend into nothingness with its crushing blows to your ears brought on by its assault of guitars, blasting drums, and extremely deep growls.

Dalkhu have shown promise in being one of the better blackened death metal acts out there right now and with their new release, I'm hoping their receive more attention. Descend Into... Nothingness is a brutal and harsh experience that is sure to catch the attention of anyone who dares put it on.

twoguysmetalreviews

It is simply amazing when just two people come together to make something that even 4 or 5 people can’t even when given all the time in the world to do so. Dalkhu is a very interesting and dynamic duet whose second album, “Descend… Into Nothingness”, is a stroke of blackened death metal genius that I’ve never heard from a two man band before in my life. As you might have already guessed from that cover art, this album is raw, brutal, and holds nothing back as there is nothing keeping Dalkhu in one place as their music is chaos incarnate and laced with pure destruction. The vocals in “Descend… Into Nothingness” are so low that I had no hope whatsoever of even beginning to understand what the fuck they were saying, but I didn’t care because they were so brutal and guttural that it worked amazingly well with the guitars and drums which absolutely went for it as they were fast and hardcore in everything single way. This album was made for those of you out there who like blackened death as raw as it comes because that’s exactly what Dalkhu has done and it is a magnificent piece to say in the least. After listening to “Descend… Into Nothingness” I can guarantee that the only thing you’ll be descending into is madness because you’ll want to press that replay button as fast as you can when this album drops August 15th.

headbangerreviews

Na koniec ekipa z naszego kręgu kulturowego, czyli słoweński Dalkhu. Ekipa black metalowców wydała w tym roku swój drugi LP, który niedługo pojawi się w Polsce na kasecie dzięki Godz Ov War/Third Eye Temple. Słoweńcy na Descend… into Nothingness proponują całkiem zgrabny black metal z silnym naciskiem na death metalowe akcenty. To urozmaicone granie z wieloma zmianami tempa, nastrojów, solidnym riffowaniem i mocnym, głębokim growlem wokalisty. I rzeczywiście, momentalne przyśpieszenia, potężne zwolnienia już w otwierającym LP Pitch Black Cave potrafią zrobić wrażenie.

I na taką modłę zrobione jest na albumie większość kompozycji, jednak są interesujące momenty, jak choćby In the Woods, który już od pierwszych dźwięków gitary jest bardzo… rzekłbym, psychodeliczny, doomowy i bardziej stonerowy aniżeli black/death metalowy. Spokojnie, z czasem kawałek przyspiesza i jest konkretną jatką bez trzymanki, jednak pomysł ciekawy. Sporo kombinowania z brzmieniem jest ponadto w Soulkeepers, gdzie momentami obok klasycznych, blackowych pasaży gitar, usłyszymy „rozmyte” brzmienia tego instrumentu, zbliżając tym samym Dalkhu do kapel z kręgów „post”. Natomiast wydaje się, że apogeum tego typu wycieczek następuje w kończącym płytę E.N.N.F.

Descend… into Nothingness to dowód, że w Słowenii potrafią grać i to na całkiem niezłym poziomie.

gloskultury.pl

Dissonance, meet melody. Brutality, meet emotion. W., meet your new obsession. Slovenia’s Dalkhu have released a beautiful collage of some of the best elements of metal, and you simply have to hear it. The song construction is erudite without ever overpowering. The vocals are guttural while still providing a certain degree of feeling to the overall affair. The riffs themselves are immense and combative like warring Titans, yet they are given a certain warmth and levity by the lithe, melodic solos. It may seem strange to release the final track as the advanced single, but if “E.N.N.F.” is anything to judge the remainder of Descend… into Nothingness by, Dalkhu are poised to take you on a journey equal parts soulful and scarring. FFO: Krallice, Abusiveness, Desolate Shrines

toiletovhell

Die 2003 gegründeten slowenischen Black/Deather von Dalkhu werfen fünf Jahre nach ihrem letzten Release "Imperator" mit "Descend... Into Nothingness" am 15.08.2015 ein neues Album auf den Markt. Das Duo hat sich zur Maxime gesetzt, keine Konzerte zu spielen, sie wollen „nur“ Musik machen und diese veröffentlichen. Schade eigentlich, denn die mir vorliegende Platte hat auf jeden Fall Potential, auch mal Live umgesetzt zu werden.

Sieben Songs umfasst das 45minütige Album und bietet soliden Black/Death Metal in guter Oldschool-Manier, bei dem auch melodische Parts und hymnenhafte Solis nicht fehlen dürfen. Die Gitarren bieten eine Menge Abwechslung und die Drums wirken nicht überladen, pflastern aber gut vor sich hin.

Immer wieder tauchen in den Songs auch Passagen auf, die ordentlich Groove enthalten und zum Kopfnicken animieren, bevor es dann wieder etwas verspielter und mitunter mit Blastbeat-Attacken zur Sache geht. Ein Anspieltipp für mich ist auf jeden Fall „In the Woods“, der auch der mit Abstand melodischste Song auf „Descend…Into Nothingness“ ist. Hier beweisen die Slowenen ihr Gespür für Atmosphäre besonders, werden aber auch nicht müde, das Gaspedal zu treten, um immer wieder Abwechslung in die Melodien zu bringen. Das sieht bei „Distant Cry“ nicht anders aus, den ich auch für sehr gelungen halte. „Accepting the Burried Signs“ bietet da mehr Oldschool-Charakter und enthält auch typische schwarzmetallische Elemente, hier galoppieren sich die Herren voran und ich fühle mich in die Anfänge des Melodic-Death Anfang/Mitte der 90er versetzt, was den Song keineswegs schlecht oder verstaubt aussehen lässt, mir persönlich etwas zu fröhlich, aber es gibt viele, die diese Art mögen.

„Soulkeepers“ beginnt sehr melancholisch und transportiert die Stimmung durch die sieben Minuten, Anleihen zu Dissection sind nicht von der Hand zu weisen, dennoch ist der Song eigenständig und kein bloßer Abklatsch. Der letzte Titel „E.N.N.F.“ ist mit seinen über 10Minuten dann auch das längste Werk auf „Descend…Into Nothingness“. Die Drums pflastern durch und die Gitarren pflügen sich melodisch durch die slowenischen Wälder. In der Mitte wird mal kurz die Bremse getreten und es wird wieder atmosphärisch, bevor der zweite Teil eingeläutet wird., in dem sich ruhigere Parts mit wilden Blasts abwechseln, langweilig wird’s nicht.

Dalkhu hatte ich bisher nicht auf dem Schirm, werde ich aber weiter beobachten. Die beiden Slowenen werfen mit "Descend... Into Nothingness" kein Überwerk auf den Markt, aber es ist sehr solide, was geboten wird. Die Scheibe ist ganz gut produziert und klingt transparent, was aber auch der Wucht keinen Abbruch verleiht. Einzig der Gesang kann auf die Dauer sehr eintönig sein, zumindest war es für mich so, hier wäre mehr Facettenreichtum angebracht, ich behalte Dalkhu im Auge und hoffe, dass die nächste Veröffentlichung nicht wieder 5 Jahre benötigt.

zephyrs-odem.de

I’m gonna show my age here. You remember the old Inspector Gadget cartoon from the 1980s? If so, I’m sure you remember the villain, Dr. Claw. Well, vocalist Primoz sounds exactly like him. You think I’m kidding? Check out the link below. Anyways, I mean this as nothing but a compliment since he sounds evil as all fuck.

Metal Archives lists the band as Black Metal, which is incorrect, as this is death metal through and through. Heck, I’ll say there’s maybe some black/death stuff going on there. Overall this is thick/chunky death metal and not completely what you might think (by listening to the beginning of the initial track). There’s almost, dare I say (for lack of a better term) a “groovy” element added in (here and there). Normally when you hear this vocal style you’d expect 100% complete brutality, maybe even primitiveness. But this just works.

http://www.nocleansinging.com/2015/08/31/kevinps-albums-of-the-month-august-2015/

If there is one thing that can be said about Slovenia, it’s that they have supplied us with a number of great metal bands. For instance, there is… ummmm… well… fine, so I don’t know any off the top of my head. But they’ve given us at least one good metal band. Hitting the scene with a full-length debut in 2010, Dalkhu blasted the ears of some small portion of the world with a mostly run-of-the-mill black-metal assault focused on the antics of Dissection – depressive leads, tremolo-picked melodies, and an overall sense of blackness. After the release of Imperator, most of the band went its separate ways while guitarist/bassist J.G. opened a black-death recruiting office for the creation of a new band and a new sound. Succeeding in bringing aboard P.Z. as new vocalist and Spawn of the Void on session drums, J.G. is back with a sound so different that a new band name might be in order.

The first thing you will notice about Descend… into Nothingness, as the opening heartbeat transitions into the beating drums and chomping guitars of “Pitch Black Cave,” is that the vocals are a near 180 from what they were on the debut. While Berstuk sported a blackened rasp to “match” the music on Imperator, new vocalist P.Z. takes Descends… and gives it a trollish death growl to better suit the new death elements. While the vocals are equally as monotone as Berstuk’s rasps, P.Z.’s guttural contributions offer much more in the way of uniqueness and memorability. A song like “In The Woods,” which appears to be a typical Dissection knockoff full of nifty guitar leads, layers of emotion, and a barrage of crisp drumming, is injected with grimness and a heavy-as-fuck demeanor. Follow-up track, “Distant Cry,” takes the formula further with a punchier and heavier rendering of Alcest-like atmospheres that somehow work in this extreme context.

Dalkhu also provides a better sense of diversity in their songwriting. The back-half of the album consists of the Polish-death inspired “Accepting the Burried Signs” (is that a typo?) and the Amon Amarth-tinged “Soulkeepers,” which seem to slyly settle into pre-made bulldozer tracks before scaling the ruts to pave a path through murky, melodious landscapes. This diversification (including what sounds like distant clean vocals) further buries Imperator in the past and drives you forward, deeper into the black hole threatening to swallow the cover. After this backside one-two punch, the album ends with the ten-minute blackened, death-coster, “E.N.N.F.” Not an over-the-top epic, the closer does a good job of delivering an overture of the sights of sounds of the band’s new style (much like “The Spirit of Soldiers” does for Panzerchrist). However, this one will need a few spins to properly anticipate the lurchings that lead you toward the finale.
Dalkhu‘s new approach rarely goes into super-sonic speed, but instead utilizes black metal tremolos in a melodic fashion (akin to Dissection) and a crushing deliberateness to maximize the effect (see “The Fireborn” for a good example of some purposeful, deathy, Immortal-esque crunch). Slap on P.Z.’s new vocal style and a drummer that understands the message Dalkhu is trying to convey, and you have a band with a new heartbeat, frothing at the mouth. With knob-work handled by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studios (who mastered last year’s awesome Onheil release), the production is rather clean with is just enough dynamics here to keep the eardrums from splitting.

Overall, this a much improved outing compared to their debut, and I look forward to hearing from these fiends in the future. So, if you’re a fan of the style, go grab this album now or grab the upcoming vinyl version (coming out on Iron Bonehead Productions) to better experience another Paolo Girardi painting on some 12″ gatefold.

http://www.angrymetalguy.com/dalkhu-descend-nothingness-review/

Slovenia’s blackened death crew had remained notably silent since the release of 2010’s Imperator. Five years have passed, but now the band has returned with their second effort, Descend…into Nothingness. By combining a few different approaches, Dalkhu manages to find some space within a crowded sea that they can call their own.

Descend…into Nothingness brings some notable influences that they successfully weave into the extreme metal formula. Interestingly enough, there are bits of black metal (more ‘90s Scandinavian than anything else – you can hear some slight Dissection-isms in “In the Woods”), a bit from the Amon Amarth book of melodic death/Viking metal (“Soulkeepers”), and a more traditional death metal backbone that keeps things in place. The vocals are low and quite guttural, maintaining their use as an instrument rather than doling out catchy melodic phrasings. The biggest standout here are the guitar melodies – yes, melodies that infect the often punishing material with some memorable bite. Extended cuts such as the closer, “E.N.N.F.” really take advantage of this, allowing J.G. to really take some additional time to flesh out leads into rather enjoyable moments. Most bands of this variety tend to lay out the ‘standard issue’ here, focusing on brutality, yet Dalkhu makes songs like “Distant Cry” into something more than the average with this emphasis.

Dalkhu have a winner on their hands here with Descend…into Nothingness. They can bring the malicious and bludgeoning riffs that the black/death fans crave, yet carry a nuance for melody that is bound to get them a bit more noticed by outlying fans.

http://deadrhetoric.com/reviews/dalkhu-descendinto-nothingness-iron-bonehead/

Dalkhu are a band from Slovenia that has been featured before in this zine and plays a raw and melodic form of black metal with a touch of death metal and this is a review of their 2015 album "Descend... Into Nothingness" which was released by Iron Bonehead Productions.

Heartbeat sounds start off the album before going into more of a fast and raw black/death metal direction that also uses a great amount of blast beats and growling vocals and you can also hear a decent amount of melody being utilized in the guitar riffing and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them.

Throughout the recording there is a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and the solos and leads also add more of a melodic black metal sound to the recording and the music also brings in ritualistic sound effects at times and a couple of the tracks are very long and epic in length and as the album progresses elements of thrash can be heard briefly and closer to the end of the recording a brief use of clean playing can be heard

Dalkhu plays a style of black metal that is very raw and melodic in the Swedish vein while making their style a little bit different by using death metal style growls, the production sounds very powerful while the lyrics cover Satanism, Misanthropy and Darkness.

In my opinion this is a very great sounding album from Dalkhu and if you are a fan of raw and melodic black/death metal, you should check out this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "The Fireborn" "Accepting the Buried Signs" and "E.N.N.F".

http://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.ru/2015/08/dalkhudescend-into-nothingnessiron.html

Die Black Metal-Band mit dem seltsamen Namen Dalkhu kommt aus dem exotischen Slovenien und ist schon seit 2003 aktiv. Allerdings gibt es erst ein Demo und zwei Alben von ihnen. Aber ob Black Metal als Beschreibung wirklich so passend ist? Ich bin mir da noch nicht ganz sicher... Musikalisch sicherlich, aber sie haben auch viel Death Metal mit drin, vor allem gesanglich. Denn neben den düsteren Melodieläufen, die klar dem Black Metal zuzuordnen sind, gibt es ganz viel Doublebass, tiefe, schwere Riffs und vor allem räudigen, furztrockenen Growlgesang, der mich an Nunslaughter erinnert und wahrlich boshaft klingt. Trotz der simplen und rohen Ausrichtung fällt vor allem auf, dass die Leadgitarre sehr präsent ist und mit einigen Soli brilliert. Die Produktion ist etwas rau, aber dennoch gut und passt sehr gut zur Musik. Unterm Strich klingt alles etwas ruppig und enthält einigen Chaosfaktor. Aber alles passt sehr gut zusammen. Dalkhu mit anderen Bands zu vergleichen, fällt mir allerdings schwer. Sie haben viele verschiedene Einflüsse drin und erschaffen damit ihr eigenes, diabolisches Gebräu, ohne wirklich revolutionär oder zu verschachtelt zu klingen. Egal ob nun Death oder Black: Es klingt auf jeden Fall erdig, authentisch und roh, und sollte extremen Underground Metallern auf jeden Fall gefallen.

http://www.crossfire-metal.de/11054-0-DALKHU-DESCEND-INTO-NOTHINGNESS.html

Sometimes a record needs time to weigh upon you, repeated listens to get into and to enjoy. Others are like the new Dalkhu album; immediately, devastatingly great. These Slovenian blackened death metallers create a beautiful, crushing maelstorm of metal that hits like a neutron bomb and drains you instantly of any defence against its mighty riffs and unearthly growl.

‘Pitch Black Cave’ is that initial hit, that gargantuan riff plowing voids of despair while it sounds like the vocals were dredged from one of Hell’s most vile pits. The drumming thrashes back and forth, while a tremolo riff buzzes incessantly. ‘Descend into Nothingness’ is achingly heavy and leaves you breathless. ‘The Fireborn’ is a more jagged, stuttering Behemoth, with a bowel rattling bass and double kick combo. ‘In the Woods’ showcases the band’s ability to seamlessly move into beautifully melodic territory, taking influence from the more atmospheric black metal bands, while still engaging in dense, dark evil.

Dalkhu grasp the concept of brutality and melody together perfectly. ‘Descend Into Nothingness’ is one of the most violent pieces I’ve heard this year, but its instantly memorable and the musicianship is top notch. The riff patterns that spiral throughout ‘Soulkeepers’ are inspired. Closing with the crushing behemoth ‘E.N.N.F.’ , Dalkhu have crafted one of 2015’s finest slabs of metal. Fuck yes!

https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/2015/08/29/review-dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

W zeszłym roku wybrałem się na urlop do Słowenii, bardzo ładny to kraj: góry, jeziora, ciekawi ludzie. Jednak mało z tego regionu Europy pochodzi znanych kapel metalowych. Jakby dobrze poszukał, to pewnie coś by wygrzebał bardziej rozpoznawalnego, ale wiele tego nie ma.

Mam jednak nadzieję, że za sprawa tej recenzji kapela o nazwie Dalkhu wyryje się w Waszej pamięci. Na początek muszę napisać o tym, co wyróżnia drugi pełny krążek Dalkhu zatytułowany „Descend… into Nothingness”. Zdobi go mianowicie bardzo ładna okładka. Mnie takie fronty płyt zawsze bardzo się podobały i lubię na tego typu obrazkach zawiesić oko. A szczególnie lubię, gdy sztuka tego typu dumnie prezentuje się z okładki płyty winylowej. Teraz nieco o muzyce. Słoweńcy grają bardzo zgrabne połączenie black i death metalu chyba bardziej skierowany jednak w stronę śmierci. Na pierwszy plan zdecydowanie wychodzi głęboki, „grobowy” wokal. Motoryka perkusji też kojarzy się raczej z metalem śmierci. Za to gitary to już klasyczny BM. Czasem też mam nieodparte wrażenie, że gdzieś w tle majaczą mi delikatne plamy klawiszowe, ale równie dobrze może to być jakiś pogłos gitarowy czy coś takiego. Myślę, że mogę być na dobrym tropie, bo pewne smaczki elektroniczne pojawiają się na tej płycie. Nie jest to jednak tak bardzo istotne. Najważniejsze, że są to dzięki miłe uchu memu.

„Descend… into Nothingness” słucha się bardzo przyjemnie, muzyka potrafi zaskoczyć jakimś niespodziewanym elementem, więc nudy nie uświadczymy. Bardzo się cieszę, że ta płyta wpadła w moje ręce. Niby nic innowacyjnego, ale można czerpać sporo przyjemności z odsłuchu.

http://chaosvault.com/recenzje/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

Dalkhu’s Descend… Into Nothingness is a wall of energy rising up from the metal abyss of Slovenia. The album’s seven killer tracks provide some of the best modern day blackened death metal. Well written, and never boring, the Slovenian terrors worked hard to create a refreshing death metal masterpiece.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Dalkhu is that it is only a two piece band. That’s right, a two piece, featuring Primož on vocals and Jure on guitars. Descend… Into Nothingness is a powerful product of two great minds, without a doubt capable of making up for the lack of instrumentalists in the band.

The five years that it has taken since Dalkhu’s debut “Imperator” have allowed the band to progress and build upon their talents. The band sounds refreshed and able to write great songs. Nothing sounds rushed or done just for doing.

Dalkhu’s Descend… Into Nothingness is an excellent death metal album, and if you’re into their avant garde style of death metal, then I would highly recommend these talented death metallers from Europe.

http://newnoisemagazine.com/album-review-dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/#

Mit dem hier vorliegenden "Descend ... Into Nothingness" liefern die Slovenen DALKHU dieser Tage ihr zweites Lebenszeichen ab. Bereits mit ihrem Debüt "Imperator" aus dem Jahr 2010 konnte das nur aus zwei Musikern bestehende Studio-Projekt in Szene-Kreisen erste Erfolge einfahren. Mit neuem Label im Rücken setzt das Duo, bestehend aus Sänger Primož und Gitarrist Jure, nun dazu an, auch ein größeres Publikum für sich zu gewinnen.

Musikalisch bewegen sich die Beiden dabei ganz grob in der Grauzone zwischen Black und Death Metal. Insbesondere die düstere Atmosphäre weckt Assoziatitonen zum norwegischen Black Metal, während die Melodien und die tiefen Growls von Sänger Primož deutlich mehr an Genre-Kollegen wie etwa BEHEMOTH erinnern. Alles in allem eine sehr interessante Mischung, mit der die Slovenen durchaus ein breites Publikum ansprechen könnten.

Die Platte beginnt dann allerdings doch etwas sperrig mit dem Opener "Pitch Black Cave". Der Song zeigt zwar alle bereits oben genannten Trademarks der Band, trotzdem will der Track auch nach mehrmaligem Hören nicht so wirklich zünden. Abschrecken lassen sollte man sich hiervon allerdings nicht, denn ab dem folgenden "The Fireborn" startet das Duo einen Lauf, welcher schließlich im Höhepunkt der Platte, dem finalen "E.N.N.F", gipfelt. Song für Song schüttelt Gitarrist Jure dabei eine geniale, düstere Melodie nach der anderen aus dem Ärmel. Dazu kommt die großartige Dynamik der einzelnen Songs, welche durch den Wechsel aus harten Blast-Beats und eher atmosphärischen Parts erzeugt wird. All das trägt dazu bei, dass das Album auch über die gesamte Spielzeit nie langweilig oder ermüdend wird.

Auch lobend erwähnt werden muss hier das grandiose Artwork des Albums. Gerade in der heutigen Zeit, in der die meisten Albencover digital am PC gezeichnet werden, fällt das handgezeichnete Cover, welches Paolo Girardi für "Descend ... Into Nothingness" geschaffen hat, positiv auf. Dem Leser sei hiermit auch die Vinyl-Version der Albums ans Herz gelegt, denn gerade auf dem Gatefold der LP wird die düstere Endzeitvision, welche das Album schmückt, ihre volle Wirkung entfalten.

Als einziger Schwachpunkt der Platte entpuppt sich abschließend leider der Drumsound. Dieser fällt in der ansonsten sehr guten Produktion leider häufiger negativ auf. Insbesondere in schnellen Passagen und bei Blast-Beats sind die Drums deutlich zu hart getriggert und überdecken so die anderen Instrumente.

Trotzdem ist es den Slovenen insgesamt gelungen, die vom Debüt geschürten Erwartungen zu erfüllen. "Descend .... Into Nothingness" ist ein feiner Mix aus Death und Black Metal geworden, der sich auch vor Größen des Genres nicht verstecken muss und welcher DALKHU verdienterweise noch mehr Aufmerksamkeit einbringen sollte.

http://powermetal.de/review/review-Dalkhu/Descend_____Into_Nothingness,26524.html

Deeply hidden in the Slovenian extreme metal underground, a creative duo named Dalkhu has been crafting their second album for the last five years. When Imperator—their first studio album—was released independently in the year 2010, the guys behind Dalkhu were unable to gain much global attention. This, however, could (and should) change with Descend… into Nothingness, not only because Satanath Records and Iron Bonehead Productions are now responsible for the band, but because Descend… into Nothingness is an extremely strong album.
Granted, Dalkhu do not offer anything other bands have not done in the past, but their take on the classic combination of black and death metal sounds energetic and fresh. Additionally, the Slovenian project does not simply focus on creating a mighty wall of sound, nor do they forget about interesting songwriting. No, they are able to combine intelligent compositions with stunning melodies, variable guitar work, and a brutal sound.

A good example of what makes this record so interesting and strong is the song ‘Distant Cry’. It begins with an atmospheric riff which soon begins to ‘groove’, eventually evolving into catchy and melodic guitar work. The song begins to take on speed following this passage, building up a darker mood until the growls of frontman P.Ž. add some death metal flair to the formula. The song drifts perfectly between melodic and brutal elements and manages to never sound constructed but organic.
The faster and blast-beat-oriented ‘Accepting the Buried Signs’ does not only convince the listener with its brutality, but also with the great guitar leads in the last seconds of the track. The opener, ‘Pitch Black Cave’, is a strong and straight-forward death metal head-banger which does not shy away from putting the spotlight on the melodic side of Descend… into Nothingness every now and then. Nevertheless, the track does not lose its aggression or its power for even a moment. ‘Soulkeepers’ stands out from the rest of the pack as it begins with a surprisingly eerie, ghastly atmosphere, and one can’t help but get the impression that Dalkhu were straying dangerously close to the world of gothic metal with this track—however, they managed to maintain their identity, never becoming cliché or embarrassing.

Despite the praise, there are certainly negatives to be found here. As variable as Dalkhu are when it comes to their guitar performance and the mixture of brutal and melodic elements, the growling vocal approach of their frontman is nothing short of dogmatic towards brutality. Still, the growls could be more variable, and a black metal shriek in some of the songs might have made the whole thing even more interesting. Since the songs are quite long, there are one or two unfortunate long-winded passages to be found in which the band could have played more on-point (see, for example, ‘In the Woods’).

Descend… into Nothingness is also made whole by the apocalyptic cover art, which was created by none other than the absurdly talented Paolo Girardi—a man who is also responsible for illustrations from Inquisition, Bell Witch, Truppensturm, and others. Girardi is one of the more interesting visual artists in the metal scene since he manages to combine a temporal approach with spiritual and transcendental issues. One has to look no further than the cover art for the forthcoming Deathcode Society release for a perfect example of that.

All in all, with Descend… into Nothingness, Dalkhu have released a stunning second album, and fans of black and death metal who are not turned off by overtly melodic music should absolutely start spinning this underground pearl.

http://heathenharvest.org/2015/09/10/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

Well, since we're writing again, we might as well continue with sheer brutality and dynamic riffing. To be honest, I wasn't planning on writing any more metal reviews today. In stead, I was ready to focus on something calmer. But what the heck did they throw into my inbox now? A stunning piece of blackened death metal, or deathened black metal, whatever you choose is fine. So please excuse me while I indulge myself in crushing bleakness for another three quarters of an hour.

Dalkhu was formed in 2003 in Slovenia, seemingly as a solo project for J.G. Other members joined and left during the years, currently leaving J.G. on guitars and bass, P.Z. on vocals and a session drummer in someone named 'Spawn of the Void'. 'Descend... into Nothingness' is their second full-length and it's completely different from the debut, according to the biography that is. I haven't heard the previous album so I'll just focus on what I hear here.

What we hear on this album is a fierce blend of death and black metal, poured into complex song structures and loaded with a dark, morbid atmosphere. Songs like opener 'Pitch Black Cave' or 'The Fireborn' are massive slaps in the listener's face, combining massive riffs with a deep growling voice and a decent variation in drums. 'In The Woods' takes on a more melodic approach, borrowing the epic feel of some old heavy metal bands and combining it with vintage black metal riffs. So far in this album, 'In The Woods' is my favorite I guess.

So there's a lot more going on with Dalkhu than just spawning some brutal extreme metal through my speakers. In a way, the music feels a bit Scandinavian, mainly because of the heavy yet melodic approach but there's a lot of room for blast beats driven madness as well as complex songwriting. In 'Distant Cry' they even take on a bit of a fuzzy stoner rock approach, which obviously turns into extremities after a while. Nonetheless, this amount of variation is impressive.

For me, it's impossible to drag other bands into this review because every single band I mention would be an incomplete description to the songs on this full-length. I can mention bands like Tiamat, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir, Immortal or In Flames but, a. Dalkhu is a lot heavier and b. you have to combine all these names in one single song and then add a few more. Besides, even with all those names to grasp on, there's still this avant-garde feeling of experimental metal present.

The best way to approach this album is with an open mind and a head ready for some extensive headbanging. So the only thing you need to remember from this writing might be: 'an excellent progressive death metal album with black metal infuences'. That being said, I'll just finish by recommending it to anyone who is used to a little something by now. This is not beginners metal, only the advanced metalhead will appreciate this and that might be for the best...

http://www.merchantsofair.com/reviews/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness

Dalkhu’s music features both black and death metal elements with opener “Pitch Black Cave” succinctly illustrating this by commencing with its feet well and truly planted in the realms of Death Metal but as the track progresses the black metal and associated tremolo influences kick in. Dalkhu usually tend to keep fairly finite boundaries between influences with both styles being quite distinct, as opposed to blended, which is more common in recent times. I don’t have a problem whatsoever with blackened death metal but it’s interesting and refreshing to see a band have two fairly separate styles at play during an album. A lot of Dalkhu’s death metal sound can be attributed to their new vocalist who delivers a steady, guttural death metal style throughout the duration of the album which is in contrast to the vocals on previous releases which concentrated more on a Black Metal style. This death metal sound is also driven at times by the guitar which also occasionally adopts a distinct death metal, riff-heavy feel, especially during tracks such as track five, “Accepting the Buried Signs.” At other times the guitar style creates quite an epic feel, such as during track three “In the Woods” which starts at a slower pace with some excellent clean guitar work creating the epic atmosphere before descending into much heavier territory. Track four, “Distant Cry” starts with an almost folk style feel to it, further illustrating Dalkhu’s willingness to explore diverse variations in sound. Also, pay attention to the opening riff as it returns during the ambitious ten minute album closer “E.N.N.F.” which is another inspiring piece of song writing that features little snippets of the many styles and variations you’ve heard during the album.
Whether your preference in taste is black or death metal it will be met, and more, during this varied and ambitious piece of music. As stated, it’s not that Dalkhu have blurred the lines between Death and Black Metal as the two distinct styles, amongst many others, are audible during the albums duration. The Black Metal element is certainly more central in the latter half and what Dalkhu has achieved is a rich and varied tapestry of visionary and skilful song writing, woven together with threads of both black and death metal. This is an extremely accomplished sound that will satisfy those looking for a bit of variation in both dynamics and style.

http://www.thelairoffilth.com/2015/09/filthy-music-review-dalkhu-descendinto.html#more

Slovenian Dalkhu was formed in 2003 and released a demo as a quartet three years later. Their dйbut Imperator was launched in 2010, with new members on vocals and bass. Now, five years later, only guitarist (now also bassist), Sorrow (aka J.G.) remains. He's brought along a new vocalist, P.Ћ. as well as session drummer Spawn of the void.
I'm not familiar with the dйbut, but what is performed here is melodic, but far from jolly black/death.
With powerful and rather dynamic sound, recorded in Nightside Studio and mastered at Necromorbus Studio by Tore Stjerna, Dalkhu delivers three quarters of hard-hitting extremity. The duo has used a relatively considerable amount of melody as the basis for the seven tracks, but these are seasoned with plentiful hostile and warmongering temper, and the music is thus never becomes directly upbeat. That's particularly ensures by P.Ћ.'s beastly growling vocals. That Dalkhu is combative is reflected not only in aggressive battle lust, but also in a massive character which doesn't provide a too epic expression, but rather some Viking-ish associations thanks to the melodic touch.
Sorg delivers solid string-works in spades, that heightens entertainment value. He might as well employ the hired drummer. Spawn of the void puts the soul in both foot- and handy-work in a rock solid fashion. It's always swell with percussionists playing with both arms and legs, and with their heart.

If you have a taste for stuff ranging from Dissection to Rotting Christ, just to name two of the bands I feel some vibes of, than I reckon Descend... into Nothingness should please you too. Personally I put the album in the upper layers of the gradient “good”. It lacks a bit on reaching the status of a classic record, but it certainly got what is required to earn a place in the eternal rotation of goodies that are bestowed playtime.

Descend... into Nothingness was released digitally by Dalkhu and on CD by Satanath Records in collaboration with Darzamadicus Records about a month ago. Iron Bonehead has just released the album on vinyl, and Godz ov War/ Third Eye Temple will release it on tape in about a month. Thus, everyone should be pleased.

http://gorger.org/english/2015/2015-09eng.htm

Black metal bands from SLOVENIA are quite interesting and I think they’ve already forged an own sound lately. This duo released a second full length album after five years, but according with the Bio, they have been active since 2003 under the name Wrath of Surt.

Of course they show nothing but a great experienced entity influenced by Nordic black metal, but we are talking about two guys with musical skills and good taste in the genre. If you ask me, these musicians added an own seal to epic tunes and created superlative guitar lines under well-conceived structures. I really liked this album because guitarist Jure G. included excellent musical arrangements here and there, and also, all guitar solos are forged in the true metallic spirit. Maybe they are not doing something I haven’t heard before, but I admit that the entire album sounds solid, obscured and gritty. For those who are into sharp guitar lines and cavernous vocals spelling Satanism and Misanthropy.

https://zombieritualzine.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/album-review-dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

Slovenian venom spewers Dalkhu have returned with their new album "Descend...Into Nothingness", a crushingly heavy exercise in blackened death metal. It has a refreshingly old school sound, which is slave to technicality or the blast beat.

Album opener "Pitch Black Cave" sets the tone in fearful fashion, managing to be both melodic and visceral. PZ's phlegmy, guttural vocals appear to have been summoned from the bowels of hell itself.

Track two "The Fireborn", is crammed full of lead guitar and is augmented by some chilling choral keyboards. It is followed by "In The Woods", a stylish behemoth of a song somewhat reminiscent of early 90s At The Gates. "Distant Cry" follows this pattern to great effect.

The aural arson of "Accepting The Buried Signs" is next, it's frenzy tightly controlled; a blaze that gathers pace until it can no longer be controlled. Track six "Soulkeepers" is more epic and menacing in tone, its baleful and sinister character bordering on terrifying.

The album closes with "E.N.N.F.", ten minutes of discordant creepiness, and savage groove.

"Descend...Into Nothingness" is a very good album, but is not without its flaws. Often the tracks seem to bleed into one because they lack individual identity. Also it is a little bit let down by the production, in particular the biscuit tin drums. These are only minor gripes; in the main there is much to enjoy.

http://www.metal-rules.com/review/viewreview.php?band=&album=&post_by=&rating=&month=October&year=2015&letter=&pos=19

Slovenian melodic black-death metal act Dalkhu has released its latest opus, Descend… Into Nothingness. The album contains seven songs, which are an intense mixture of death, black, and even folk metal elements.

Guttural, brutal death metal vocals permeate “Pitch Black Cave”, and the other tunes. Like Jeff Walker‘s famed vocal work in Carcass, these vocals sound almost pitch doubled or pitch shifted down. The band uses interesting, fleeting soundscapes in some song introductions. One of the band’s strengths is its ability to shift tempos so quickly. Dalkhu can go from blinding to plodding in a flash.

The drums become more of a background texture when they get to blazing blastbeat speed. The bass drum does fall prey to clickiness. Although quiet, the album does sport a nice bass guitar tone, especially enjoyable given that the bass lines don’t just mirror the guitar. The guitars, which can be appreciated most easily as two separate layers in “In The Woods”, are downtuned and nicely overdriven, sporting more of a middle of the road heaviness. It sounds like there’s some synth or guitar synth overlayer in “The Fireborn”, which adds an atmospheric element. The raw, brutal, deep vocals add a nice, and fairly convincing, texture to the music. The slower sections of “Pitch Black Cave” allow the melodic motif to breathe and to air it’s emotions. “The Fireborn” has a little more involved motif then the simple stereo pulse of “Pitch Black Cave”.

While not amazingly original, the band has two difficult to obtain core elements that are fantastic: technical ability or playing chops, and a willingness to experiment with different sounds and textures. The folky sounding beginning of “Distant Cry”, with the ambient passage that follows is a great example. Dalkhu puts effort into both it’s musicianship and songwriting, which goes a long way these days. While the mix on this album is not perfect, it’s far better then some recent underground releases. The bass guitar and cymbal color could use increases on ambient systems; other then that, this disc sounds great. Clean and crisp enough to say ‘professional’, yet disheveled enough to convey aggressive intensity and unstoppable forward motion. Dalkhu’s Descend… Into Nothingness is recommended for fans of the more “pagan” black and death metal: the type that doesn’t use too much layering or get too far ahead of itself.

http://planetmosh.com/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

Iron Bonehead have a habit of unearthing metal gems from around the world, and have struck gold once again with Slovenian duo Dalkhu, and their second full length album Descend…into Nothingness. Mesmerising with their rich black metal pallette and crushing with a modern death metal intensity, they’ve made an album as beautifully dark as that spectacular painted artwork.

Pitch Black Cave enters with blistering blackened death metal; blastbeats, chunky guitar riffs and deep brutal gutturals leading one into the assumption this could be a fairly straight forward, no-frills death metal affair This is until out of nowhere the pace slows and a melodic tremolo riff bursts through, dazzling the listener and really setting up the tone of the rest of the album. The track barrels forth between all out bursts of death metal devastation, mid-paced chunky riffage conveying an epic feel, and slower sections allowing beautiful lead guitar to emerge brightly like stars shining on a dark, cold night – all with a keen sense of melodic intent. In short, the pacing is brilliant, and keeps the track ever interesting and well rounded. While they’re a two piece, the session drummer definitely holds his own, frantically bashing the kit to pieces in the faster sections combining with devastating effect with the tumultuous riffage, while keeping a tight beat with great use of bass drumming in the slower sections. One could make the link with the sound of other Eastern European black metal bands such as Nokturnal Mortum and Hate Forest, but in truth their death metal edge really sets them apart enough to make such lazy comparisons unfair to Dalkhu’s sound, one that’s very much their own.

While the tracks are well paced, there’s also great variety over the course of the album, while each track does retain Dalkhu’s penchant for melody. The Fireborn is dark and gloomy in tone with slower more mournful riffs, a little dissonance with the vocals taking a more prominent edge in the mix, while In the Woods is more epic, with rousing lead guitar running alongside mid-paced melodic riffs throughout the track, based in more of a viking metal sound, with Windir coming to mind, and Distant Cry has some folky tendencies among it’s riffage, with the drums packing more of that frantic punch from the first track. The last piece E.N.N.F. is an epic ten minute closer, an ambitious piece brimming with a multitude of melodic riffs, paced brilliantly with soaring leads breaking the track up with a sound as epic as the track length, and there’s an extra energy to the guttual vocals compared to the extra tracks.

Dalkhu’s varied approach has everything about it to win over fans from all over the extreme metal spectrum, perfectly melding punishing brutality with epic melodies and folky undertones into a blackened death metal album that really stands out from the pack – a real breath of fresh air.

http://swirlsofnoise.com/2015/10/06/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

Dalkhu was formed in 2003 by J.G. on guitars, he was joined by Kalki on drums and after few lineup changes the band was complete by Jurij on bass and Berstuk on vocals, with this line up ther recorded their album debut "Imperator" which was released back in October 2010, after the album released, Berstuk leave the band around 2011 and he is replaced by P.Ž. in 2012 and this is how Dalkhu began working on their second release, but lineup changes will hit the band again when Kalki and Jurij depart from the band in 2014, leaving the band as a two members band, however doesn't stop J.G. and P.Ž. to put the finishing touches on the songs for the new album, in August 2014 they enter at Nightside Studio, with Spawn of the Void as session drummer to record seven infamous tracks, the mixing ran by J.G. while the mastering was done at Necromorbus Studio by Tore Stjerna, to finally get the album released last August 15, 2015 under Satanath Records.

I have to be honest and tell you two important facts, first; as soon as I started to listen, "Descend... Into Nothingness" it blows me away and second I missed Dalkhu's first album "Imperator" five years ago, but I do not regret for it, because today's I can clearly witness the evolution of the band through all this time, listening both albums one after another and "Descend... Into Nothingness" stands by itself, not for been a groundbreaker but being creative, intricate and interesting, because you just can't get enough of it, this is an album you can hit re-play once and over.
Songs like the first one "Pitch Black Cave" with a superb guitar riff that shift you from one side of the room to the other, it has everything you been asking for catchy, brutality, dense and guttural vocals that freeze your soul, "The Fireborn" rumbles your speakers and keeps up the same pace, Spawn of the Void does a neat work behind the drum set, while "In the Woods" slows down for couple of minutes and then unleashes their fury to magnificently returned to the starting point and thus continue in a chaotic seesaw, you can pick any cut off this album and you will find out a terrific songwriting riff that excel up to guitar tremolo that captivate your senses, "Soulkeepers" falls into melodious gloomy passages more oriented to the Norwegian influence and the closing epic cut, "E.N.N.F." reaching almost the ten minutes but unfortunately doesn't make the impact I was expecting, musically speaking, is not monotone is structured with different rhythms, probably there are many ideas in a song, that could well have become two tracks, who knows? Perhaps eventually I'll end up accepting.

Dalkhu does an extraordinary job, there is no question about it, they delivered a crushing Blackened death metal album, if you liked their debut album, prepare yourself to experience a renewed, energetic and aggressive sound, So if you are a fan within the genre don't hesitate to order your physical copy or download, you will not regret it.

Stay True… Stay Metal… Stay Brutal...

http://insanityremains.blogspot.ru/2015/11/dalkhu-2015-descend-into-nothingness.html

Bene, ora posso dire che questa etichetta sta diventando quasi una garanzia. Oggi è il turno di una band slovena dedita ad un Black veloce ed epico (a questo punto mi verrebbe da dire che l’epicità è un marchio di fabbrica dell’Europa centrale…). Ma non solo, vi troviamo anche riferimenti al Death melodico e a quello tecnico, per un connubio molto equilibrato. Gli assoli sono vivi e taglienti, la parte ritmica sembra convinta di suonare per l’ultima volta nella propria carriera. Sono rimasto piacevolmente colpito da questo combo, che alla seconda prova su lunga distanza ha fatto sicuramente centro. Uno di quei gruppi che vorresti vedere dal vivo, giusto per capire se si è di fronte ad una nuova realtà musicale. Encomiabili.

http://www.metalhead.it/?p=54181

Voilà un album qui a intéressé pas mal de monde, à en juger par le nombre de labels impliqués : Iron Bonehead, Satanath Records (label russe récent aux sorties de plus en plus nombreuses) et un obscur label macédonien (Darzamadicus Records). Ce qui leur vaut d’être désormais signés chez Iron Bonehead.

Ce groupe est actuellement un duo, auquel il faut ajouter pour cet album un batteur de session. Descend… a bénéficié pour l’enregistrement des services de Tore Stjerna au fameux Necromorbus. Au final, le son est bon mais pas autant que ce qui sort habituellement de là-bas – ou peut-être ai-je récupéré des fichiers trop compressés.
Dalkhu joue un black metal à forte tendance death metal – pas mal de plans et surtout la grosse voix bien gutturale du vocaliste – et aussi mélodique. Si j’avais qualifié directement leur musique de « black death mélodique », on aurait pu penser qu’il s’agissait de son à la suédoise du genre No Fashion Records ; il n’en est rien, bien que l’influence de ce style puisse transparaître de temps à autre.

Descend… propose donc un metal extrême mélodique très majoritairement mid tempo, avec des plans mélodiques variés et plutôt travaillés, contrastant avec la rugosité et la linéarité du chant.
Dans l’ensemble, c’est pas mal. Mais il manque quelque chose à ce groupe pour vraiment briller. Quand on pense à du black death mélodique, on s’attend à quelque chose de grandiose, de majestueux, d’épique, comme sur les albums que le fabuleux label No Fashion a eus dans son catalogue. En clair, ce disque manque de consistance et de profondeur au niveau des ambiances, ce malgré un niveau de composition tout à fait satisfaisant avec des morceaux qui peuvent durer plus de neuf minutes sans que ça se sente réellement.
Et pourtant, l’évidence m’est apparue dès la première écoute de cet album : il ne me touche pas vraiment.

Après, et comme toujours, ce n’est que mon avis. Car ce disque recèle des qualités objectives qui trouveront sans doute une oreille moins exigeante que la mienne pour les apprécier.
Et j'en profite pour dire que cette couverture réalisé par Paolo Girardi n'est pas sa plus réussie...

http://auxportesdumetal.com/reviews/Dalkhu/dalkhu-descendintonothingness.html

Slovenian blackended death metal band realised a album that is in every sense a true blackened death metal album.On this album it can be heard tehnical compliance that is brought to ideal,acoustic is great and production is phenomenal,also on the album it can be heard the influence of melodic music which fitted phemomenally with the whole album.This album brings you in the world of death,sorrow,fiction,darkness,evil.Dalkhu is anonimous band that desirves a lot of attention of audience and public.This band is a high guality blackened death metal band with awesome blackened death metal music at its best in this genre of metal music.

http://demonreports.tumblr.com/post/134418301803/album-reviewunderground-of-metal-dalkhu

Five years separate the release of debut album Imperator and the second album, 2015’s DESCEND… INTO NOTHINGNESS for the two-man Slovenian black metal band DALKHU.

Compared to 2010’s primitive but intriguing debut, DESCEND INTO NOTHINGNESS is a phenomenal step forward. With new vocalist PRIMOŽ, a far more death metal aligned vocalist, comes the incorporation of more death metal minded musings than it’s predecessor. It gives DALKHU a far more grandiose bedrock and gives the black metal draping a far more powerful and prominent sound. There is almost no sound which doesn’t sound majestic on this record; whether it is the newly discovered all encompassing sound or PRIMOŽ positively demonic and inaudible vocals.

Like it’s predecessor, DESCEND INTO NOTHINGNESS offers a share of melodic elements like the guitar solos lacing passages of THE FIREBORN. It carries DIMMU BORGIR‘s penchant for the dramatic, an immersive volley of ultra heavy (in this case, DALKHU are significantly heavier) guitar distortion hell, delivered at a crushing speed along but retaining a vaguely symphonic aesthetic to it. It’s followed by IN THE WOODS which begins with a sweeping and soaring guitar solo good enough to put a power metal band to shame. It quickly descends into atypical black metal affair before returning to the more melodic side again.

DALKHU took five years between the two albums which is a lifetime in the world of music. Rather unexpectedly, it seems like a lifetime between IMPERATOR and DESCEND INTO NOTHINGNESS. There is an unbelievable gulf in class. This album is so vastly superior it is hard to believe or comprehend that this is in fact the same DALKHU (it’s largely not but it carries the same name) from 2010.

http://demonszone.com/albums/dalkhu/descend-into-nothingness/

I gotta say that I am confused by all the new countries that came in the wake of the civil war in Yugoslavia so I can’t really tell Bosnia from Slovenia from Croatia. I know that this lot are Slovenian. Not that it really matters. Metal is universal and as long as I find it interesting I don’t really care what country they are from. DALKHU play a form of death metal that could be described as a mix of mid tempo and melodic. It feels like they’ve found their niche with this sound. There is a heaviness to it that contrasts well with the more melodic side. Another cool album.

http://battlehelm.com/reviews/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

Oggi entriamo in territorio sloveno, e troviamo un'ottima realtà, i Dalkhu. Fautori di un black metal venato di death melodico, i Nostri ci regalano circa tre quarti d'ora di atmosfere fiere e solenni, epiche, battagliere. E' quindi una sorta di extreme metal imparentato anche con qualcosa di vagamente viking, che scorre in maniera gradevole grazie ad una buona alternanza di parti veloci che rimembrano tutto il black metal degli anni Novanta dei soliti nomi, ed altre in mid tempo che ricordano i Bathory di metà-fine carriera, giusto per dare delle dritte di massima, ma ora esaminerò con più precisione.

Il substrato death è comunque ben udibile, ed anche in fase di produzione si evince la volontà della band di ottenere suoni corposi e nitidi, che esaltino l'ottimo riffing, sempre affilato ed evocativo, e le parti di batteria che sorreggono a dovere le mai banali strutture dei pezzi. Canzoni come "Pitch Black Cave" e soprattutto "The Fireborn" si rivelano come episodi di ottima fattura, dalle qualità tecnico-compositive importanti, e una propensione verso soluzioni quasi "progressive" che potrebbero rimandare anche a certe cose degli Enslaved, ma questo paragone è da prendere con le pinze in quanto, di base, la musica dei Dalkhu rimane più immediata. Sono da rimarcare i continui sali e scendi di emozioni, che vengono espressi con parti più rilassate e di ampio respiro, in cui a volte affiora un velo malinconico che riesce a catturare l'ascoltatore e portarlo in territori sognanti.

La voce anche conserva molte delle prerogative del death metal, in quanto si esprime in un growl profondo e mai in screaming. Interessanti gli intrecci di chitarra, dove emerge la bravura della band nel rifinire i pezzi con vari arpeggi e arrangiamenti di pregevole fattura, come in "Distant Cry". Altro episodio davvero degno di nota per il suo incedere struggente ma allo stesso tempo aggressivo è "Accepting the Buried Signs", che vagamente riporta a galla il lavoro seminale di band come Dissection e Naglfar, e stesso discorso si potrebbe fare per la successiva "Soulkeepers".
Chiude questo cd la lunga ed elaborata "E.N.N.F.", una vera dimostrazione di ispirazione e classe che non annoia nonostante i quasi dieci minuti di durata.

Un lavoro molto valido quindi, che spero possa essere preso in considerazione da tutti gli amanti del death/black metal più melodico ed epico e che fa intravedere grandi potenzialità per il futuro di questa band, che al secondo album si dimostra già molto matura e pronta per spiccare il definitivo salto di qualità.

http://heavymetalmaniaczine.blogspot.ru/2015/12/dalkhu-descendinto-nothingness.html?utm_source=BP_recent

Dalkhu are a Slovenian duo that recorded one full length before (back then Dalkhu were a four-piece), 2010’s Imperator, which was independently released. And now they return with a second one, which was recorded from August 2014 till January 2015 at the Nightside Studio, and mastered at the famous Necromorbus Studio by Tore Stjerna. This sophomore album was firstly released digitally by the band itself, and at the same time on CD via Satanath Records and Darzamadicus Records, and in mean time there’s a vinyl edition too (Iron Bonehead Productions) and a tape-version (Godz Ov War Productions).

Anyway, Descend… Into Nothingness clocks forty four minutes and it brings a very ‘full’ form of Death / Black Metal. ‘full’ goes for both approach and sound; let’s say something about the latter. Indeed the production is heavy-as-f*ck, brutally slamming and hammering, but the quasi-exaggeration surely gets its goal: strengthening, empowering the performant results. I think the mix is fabulous, for once again all players (the different instrumental / vocal ingredients) come to their right. Personally I do appreciate the somewhat dense, misty sound collage. Cool!

Music-wise Dalkhu combine a frenzy and colossal massiveness with quite a haunting atmosphere, and actually that contradictive interplay does work somehow. The execution is of a technically skilled kind, yet with lots of old schooled, little epic (truly subtle but impossible to ignore!) and groovy elements. In general, the tempo is fast, including some violent outbursts (especially the drum patterns [performed by a session drummer called Spawn of the Void] and several of the trem riffs cause the intensity of those powerful eruptions), but band leader J.G. did not forget to write some calmer excerpts too. And I cannot but at least mention P.Ž.’s vocals, for these are of a mostly incredibly deep-guttural kind. I do not exaggerate if I say that this guy’s throat must be fueled by napalm-injected acid and liquid razor wires.

http://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/dalkhu

Satanath zal nooit lieflijke plaatjes uitbrengen, integendeel. Dit Sloveense duo brengt zijn tweede plaat op het label uit, en doet dat met veel agressie en brutaliteit. Haat, vechtlust en een bom striemende metal, inderdaad, in Slovenië is het ook geen blijheid troef.
De mix van stijlen die Dalkhu brengt is zeer duidelijk. Brute vikingmetal, met een doomdeath-vocalist, epische solo's, een blackmetal drumcomputer en de nodige grimmige en occulte sfeermakerij in het gitaargerag. Het leidt tot een mix van Zweedse blackdeath-bands met een zweem van oudschoolse Slavische blackmetal-ijzigheid en een leadgitarist die zo aan de slag kan bij Abbath. Prima dus, al klinkt het hier en daar net te artificieel qua drumwerk om mij echt volledig te kunnen bekoren (typische Necromorbus-sound). Niettemin een fijn werk met prima artwork! Volgende keer consequenter inzetten op de Noorse tremelo's voor nog meer punten. Luisteren doe je naar The Fireborn.

http://www.zwaremetalen.com/recensie/33596/Dalkhu-Descend-into-Nothingness.html

Tout comme mes collègues, me voilà rattrapé par le rush de fin d’année (ou maintenant même de début d’année) par lequel nous allons coûte que coûte chercher à chroniquer les derniers albums que l’on souhaiterait incorporer dans notre bilan 2015. Le problème c’est que dans mon cas, c’est peine perdue. Les chroniques en retard s’étant accumulées de façon abusive, il est évident que je n’aurais pas le temps de vous parler de toutes mes bonnes surprises et de mes déceptions de l’année 2015. Il était donc temps de faire des choix, et alors que j’aurais également voulu vous parler du bon retour de Skinless, de la petite déception procurée par le tout de même sympathique dernier album de Slugdge ou encore de l’excellent Hochelaga de Dopethrone, Dalkhu sonnait pourtant comme une évidence. Non pas que les autres albums méritaient moins d’attention, mais tout simplement car Dalkhu est une surprise monumentale, une calotte qui sort de nulle part comme on en a eu que trop peu vue en 2015 en matière de Death Metal (mis à part le Cambion et le Blood of the Wolf, chroniqués en ces pages par notre cher Keyser).

Descend… Into Nothingness n’est que le deuxième album de ce groupe slovène pourtant formé en 2003, faisant suite à leur premier essai Imperator paru en 2010. 5 années de battement qui ont vu le départ de tous les membres du groupe à l’exception de J.G (guitare, basse). Le sieur ne se démonte pas pour autant et choisit alors de ne recruter qu’un seul nouveau membre pour son groupe, en la personne du vocaliste P.Ž., et de s’octroyer les services d’un batteur de session pour cet album (le très bon Spawn of the Void). Un choix qui ne sera pas anodin tant le timbre de voix de son nouveau compagnon vocaliste diffère avec le chant purement Black Metal de Berstuk, chanteur sur Imperator. P.Ž. possède en effet un growl monolithique puissant penchant entièrement du côté du (Brutal) Death Metal.

C’est donc logiquement que l’ensemble de la musique a ainsi évolué, passant du Black Metal classique de Imperator à un Blackened Death plus mature, sombre et envoûtant sur ce Descend… Into Nothingness. "Pitch Black Cave" annonce d’entrée de jeu ce qu’il adviendra de l’auditeur pour les 45 prochaines minutes avec ses riffs tourbillonnants dans une mélasse épaisse créée par cette production opaque, enlisant quiconque s’approche de trop dans une noirceur abyssale, rappelant l’ambiance capable d’insuffler à leur musique des groupes comme Pseudogod. Cependant, cette brutalité insondable n’est pas la seule arme du combo qui n’hésite jamais à briser cette opacité apparente par de petits artifices lumineux salvateurs, qui prennent ici sur ce premier morceau la forme de leads mélodiques (à 0’53’’).

En poursuivant l’écoute de ce deuxième album des slovènes, l’auditeur comprendra alors aisément que la stratégie du groupe se fonde sur ces alternances entre les deux facettes antonymes de sa musique. Dalkhu, tel une entité schizophrène aux personnalités totalement opposées, nous fait donc constamment voyager au travers ses deux univers, nous faisant par la même découvrir tantôt des blasts furieux et tantôt des leads lancinants sans que cela ne soit le moins déroutant du monde. La chanson "Distant Cry" illustre à merveille ce côté schizophrénique, voyant ses mélodies envoûtantes constamment brisées par des assauts toujours plus brutaux, et réciproquement, jusqu’à ce que ces deux aspects s’enchevêtres complètement pour former progressivement un magnifique imbroglio de mélodies et de blasts.

Le Dalkhu cuvée 2015 se présente donc comme une entité hybride arborant une violence frénétique constamment agrémentés et balancés par des éléments salvateurs pouvant prendre la forme d’un lead clair, de trémolos mélodiques ("Soulkeepers") ou même de riffs sonnant très « Viking », rappelant les premiers albums d’Enslaved "(Accepting the Buried Signs"). Tant d’éléments qui se fondent pourtant parfaitement dans le moule et qui créent un ensemble parfaitement cohérent, les changements entre chaque motif n’étant jamais maladroit. Ici chaque chanson suit son cour, sans aucune faute de goût ou redondance, évitant ainsi à l’ennui de pointer le bout de son nez. L’album s’achève même en beauté avec "E.N.N.F", pièce impressionnante de presque 10 minutes nous remémorant tous les bons éléments de l’album sur le point de s’achever. Une sorte de Best-Of qui a pour conséquence que, à la fin de l’album, l’on ressent irrémédiablement l’envie de se le repasser.
Descend… Into Nothingness est donc une franche réussite. Un album très personnel et bien composé de bout en bout, aux multiples facettes toujours bien maniées et à l’assemblage sans accroc. L’album jouit de plus d’une production efficace, puissante tout en étant assez lisible pour permettre au groupe de laisser toutes ses personnalités s’exprimer sans que cela ne devienne trop brouillon. Dalkhu nous offre donc une bien belle surprise dans une année 2015 qui a été bien pauvre en découvertes et rien que pour ça on ne peut que les remercier pour ce Descend… Into Nothingness.

http://www.thrashocore.com/chroniques/chronique/6493-dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness-2015-chronique.html

Dalkhu grubunu ilk defa dinliyorum,şu an çalan albüm grubun ikinci tam zamanlı albümü olan ve bir çok firmadan çeşitli versiyonları yayınlanan Descend...into nothingness adını taşıyor. Grubun tarzı melodisi biraz fazla black/death metal. Bazıları buna black metal karanlığı ile modern death metal karmaşıklığı olarak isimlendirsede ben kabaca Dissection'un brutal vokal ve biraz daha kirli hali olarak isimlendirmek istiyorum.

Dalkhu gelecek vaad ediyor,yeni bestelerinde daha fazla old school death&black öğeleri kullanabilirler,biraz değişken yapısı underground ruhu kaçırıyor,en azından bana öyle geldi. Karmaşıklık ve karanlık atmosfer parçalarda hissedilebiliyor fakat değişkenlik kişisel olarak beni cezbetmiyor. 2 kişiden oluşan Dalkhu piyasaya iyi bir adım attı,diğer kritikleri okuduğumda genelde olumlu puan verilmiş. Bende puanı esirgemeyeceğim,gelelim albümün artworküne,sanki bir tablo çalışması gibi gözüküyor,dünyanın yanan figüru ve kara deliğin yaşamı kendisine doğru yutmasını konu aldığını düşünüyorum. Yine şarkı sürelerinin gereğinden fazla uzun olduğu kanaatindeyim. Bir black metal ya da death metal parçası 6-7 dakika olmamalı...

http://www.extreminal.com/extreminal/kritik.asp?id=1379#hllHHyds5lbm1c3P.01

http://www.insanityremainswebzine.com/2015/11/dalkhu-2015-descend-into-nothingness.html

Ritkán talál utat hozzám szlovén zenekar, de a Dalkhu immár ezen kevesek egyike. Ez a Satanath kiadónak köszönhető, ugyanis temérdek mennyiségű promó érkezett tőlük, ezért nem kell csodálkozni, ha minduntalan az orosz kiadó neve tűnik fel egy-egy kritika kapcsán.

Az Imperator című első Dalkhu koronggal már csak a kettes lemez tudatában sikerült ismeretséget kötnöm, de maradandó élményekkel nem gazdagodtam. Nem feltétlenül az ötletekkel álltak hadilábon (bár az üdvösséghez kevés az anyag), hanem egyszerűen az amatőr hangzás hazavágta a lemezt. Különösen a dob hangzása volt csapnivaló. Ehhez képest a Descend… into Nothingness óriási fejlődés, mintha nem is ugyanarról a bandáról lenne szó. És valóban! Jure G. gitáros ráncba szedte a projekt dolgait, lecserélte maga körül a teljes legénységet, ő maga átvállalta a basszusgitárt is, és egy új énekessel duóban vágtak neki az új anyagnak. A legnagyobb változás, a hangzás ugrásszerű javulását leszámítva, az ének terén tapasztalható. Míg az Imperator stílusbeli hovatartozását egyértelműen eldöntötte a tipikus károgás, addig Primož korai Carcassra emlékeztető hörgésével már kevésbé nyilvánvaló a black metal státusz. Bár az ő hangja is meglehetősen monotonnak hat, a death metalos megközelítés mégis ad valami plusz spirituszt a zenének. Ha már a legendás brit korboncnokok szóba kerültek, a Dalkhunak is jót tenne, ha a Necroticism… vokáljához hasonlóan, felváltva acsarkodna és hörögne az énekes.
A Dalkhu zenéje részben a Dissectionre emlékeztető gitárharmóniákra épül, azaz, gyors tremolós pengetéssel előcsalt dallamokra, amelyek oly honosak a black metal világában. Futólag a The Bleeding korszakbeli Cannibal Corpse is eszembe jutott, de itt kizárólag a magasabb fekvésű, death metalosabb gitártémákra gondolok, mint amilyen a Pitch Black Cave-ben váltja a black metalos hangszíneket. Már az első néhány hallgatásnál feltűnt, és aztán egyre világosabbá vált, hogy a gitárosra hárult a feladat, hogy valami emlékezeteset, kiugrót alkosson a csapat. Ezen nem azt értem, hogy Jure G. túljátssza az albumot, hanem azt, hogy sem a ritmusszekció, sem a vokál nem képes kiemelkedő teljesítményre. Úgy tűnik nekem, hogy a bandafőnök ezzel tisztában is van, úgyhogy kvázi a hátára vette a lemezt, és 110%-on teljesít, mind ötletek, mind változatosság, mind hangulat terén. Óriási előrelépés ez a debüthöz képest, a srác valóban odatette magát.

A lemezt egyébként egy Spawn of the Void nevű vendégdobos játszotta fel, teljesen korrekt, amit csinál, hozza a kötelezőt, néha fel-felvillant ezt-azt, a cinek kimondottan jól szólnak a keze alatt, de nem annyira izgalmas a játéka, hogy felfigyeljen rá az ember. A pörgetései nem túl fifikásak, ami akár lehet szándékos is, de igazából a blastbeatjeibe akarok belekötni, mert kissé kalapálósra sikeredtek, és ezzel, ha csak másodpercekre is, de szétcsapja a hangulatot. Szerencsére nem túl gyakori a jelenség, úgyhogy nagy kárt nem tesz a dalokban. Ellenben a tempóváltásokat mindenképpen a lemez erősségei közé kell sorolnom, mert egy pillanatra sincs olyan érzése az embernek, hogy beállnak a zenészek egy bizonyos ritmusra, hogy eltrillázgassanak annak hullámain. Kimondottan sokszínű a korong ilyen tekintetben. A dalokon belül is többször és természetesen váltakoznak gyors, lassú, illetve középtempók.
A Descend… legnagyobb bravúrja — és itt áll vagy bukik egy lemez — az, hogy megjegyezhető dalokat sorakoztat fel, kapaszkodókkal, tartalommal, ahogy kell. Ezért pedig, ahogyan már említettem, a gitárosnak jár az elismerés. Egy szerzeményre több remek ötlet is jutott, ezek aztán fogós, összeszedett, jól megszerkesztett dalokká állnak össze. Soha nem járt helyekre ugyan nem tévednek, de az album sava-borsát kitevő dallamok, szólók, harmóniák mentesek a sallangoktól. Mintha a gitáros minden ehetetlen mócsingot és hártyát eltávolított volna, hogy csak a hús színe-javát tálalja fel ezen a hétfogásos vacsorán.

Ami a külalakot illeti, már az Imperator lemeznek is tetszetős borítót ajándékozott a zenekar, de a Descend… into Nothingnesshez készült festmény, amely a CD hátoldalán folytatódik, egy kész remekmű. Az ember szinte érzi, hogy egy ilyen csomagoláshoz nem tartozhat értéktelen zenei aláfestés. A szövegeket viszont nem sokat fogom olvasgatni, mert a megszokott okkult témák boncolgatása egyszerűen hidegen hagy.
Összességében, Jure G.-nek sikerült kigitároznia zenekarát a tucatproduktumok sivatagából, és ha (még) nem is magasan csúcsosodó hegyként, de jól láthatóan kiemelkedik hasonszőrű társai közül. Bátran merem ajánlani.

http://www.femforgacs.hu/kritika/3448/Dalkhu_Descend_into_Nothingness_2015

Dalla fertile Slovenia, che pur essendo una nazione di soli tre milioni di abitanti riesce sempre ad esprimere ottimi gruppi metal, ecco i Dalkhu alla seconda opera, dopo Imperator del 2010.

I Dalkhu fanno un death metal con forti dosi di black, soprattutto nella ritmica delle canzoni, che sono ben strutturate e mai solo bieca potenza, ma hanno una struttura ben definita. La melodia c’è e si sente, anche grazie ad una produzione molto accurata e soprattutto funzionale allo scopo. In questi ultimi tempi vi sono molti gruppi che fanno death tinto di nero, ma pochi escono dalla media, mentre i Dalkhu si distaccano nettamente, anche perché in un genere non molto originale riescono ad avere un timbro personale e ben preciso. Infatti qui si realizza ciò che si proclamava nel titolo, ovvero una discesa nel nulla, attraverso gli scalini della sofferenza e della presa di coscienza della tragica condizione umana. Un disco che non può lasciare indifferenti, davvero ricco di molti spunti positivi e con una grande forza.

http://www.iyezine.com/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness

Diese Black Metal-Band aus Slowenien benannte sich 2003 von Wrath Of Surt in Dalkhu um und veröffentlichte seitdem ein Demo und zwei Alben. Und ihre Art Black Metal gefällt richtig gut. Mal schnell, mal rhythmisch, auch mal mit Doublebass, oft melodisch, immer facettenreich und gesanglich durchaus auch mal in Death Metal-Gefilden pendelnd, werden sie nie langweilig und beweisen zudem, dass sie spielerisch und songwriterisch ganz schön was auf der Pfanne haben. Dazu brillieren sie nicht nur mit spielerischem Können, sondern punkten auch mit einer sehr guten Produktion, die zwar transparent und druckvoll, aber nicht klinisch ist und richtig gut zur Musik passt. Sie versprühen ganz viel düsteren Spirit und sind atmosphärisch. Hier passt einfach alles zusammen. Leute, die sowohl auf Retro- als auch auf Avantgarde Black Metal keinen Bock haben, sich aber mit beidem anfreunden können, sollten bei Dalkhu mal ein Ohr riskieren.

http://www.crossfire-metal.de/12440-0-DALKHU-DESCEND-INTO-NOTHINGNESS.html

This duet known as Dalkhu hail from Slovenia, and play an old school yet modern style of death metal, with unique and catchy guitar interchanges that’s sure to leave your mind in confusion on “Descend Into Nothingness”.

The atmospheres created on this album are not done with synths or use of any other effects, as the unique guitar riffs and body pummeling rhythms just hits you in the face like a huge tidal wave. These guitar rhythms and riffs create the unique atmosphere and the awesome sound on this album. The drumming too, is quite well done, as the different tempo changes feel like a blows coming from a boxer high on crack. And the vocals, they’re a variation between deep growls and a low deathly grunt, which really brings out the demonic nature of all seven songs here. Dalkhu is no way an experimental band, but it is there unique approach to tackling such darkened lyrical themes with an original approach to writing brutally aggressive songs with such a visceral vibe.

“The Fireborn” has an epic and victorious feel to it, with its sadistic guitar assaults backed by some blistering drumming arrangements. When you put these two extreme elements together with the morbid growls here, you’re presented with some of the best European death metal you can experience.

“In The Woods” has some old school heavy metal guitar influences incorporated with some odd time signature percussion work and triumphant-sounding guitar rhythms. The bestial vocals too, along with the blast beats found on this song are vicious to the point of decimating everything in its way. I can just see images of a whole armada being crushed with the immense auditory genocide found here.

“Descend Into Nothingness” is superbly varied collection of some the best extreme death metal vocals, guitars, bass and drum playing to ever grace an album of Dalkhu’s calibre.

For extreme metal fans wanting to experience something new and refreshing, look no further, as Dalkhu has the best of old school death metal and touches of modern day extreme metal brutality. Highly recommended checking out.

http://www.explicitlyintense.com/reviews/cd-review/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

Confesso che a un primo ascolto i Dalkhu non mi avevano convinto affatto. In realtà, superato l'impatto iniziale, "Descend... Into Nothingness" si rivela semplicemente un disco con un inusuale quantitativo di carne al fuoco. Se doveste esservi per qualche ragione imbattuti nell'esordio "Imperator" (2010, autoprodotto), rimarrete spiazzati: i Dalkhu sono un'altra band. Il motore creativo del progetto, Jure "Sorg" G., rimasto orfano dei compagni d'arme, si è procurato i servigi del cantante P.Ž. e del turnista Spawn Of The Void alla batteria (che nessuno mi toglierà mai il dubbio essere una drum machine, comunque) e ha portato una bella ventata di novità alla formazione.

Niente più black metal asciutto e monocromo, ma un ibrido death-black — oggi più death che black — dalle innumerevoli variazioni, svolte e deviazioni; tutto è profondamente diverso e decisamente più personale che in passato. La voce di P.Ž. è un boato gutturale che potrebbe essere uscito da un disco death d'oltreoceano (o dal cassetto della scrivania di Satana in persona). Le chitarre sono spesse così e cattive all'inverosimile, tuttavia si lasciano spesso andare a cambi di tempo e di strutture, salvo poi inanellare un paio di riff granitici e picchiare durissimo. E poi sbucano gli assoli ("E.N.N.F."), gli arpeggi ("In The Woods"), di nuovo i riff. Ora black metal, ora death metal. Ora up-tempo, ora mid-tempo. Ora dritti come fusi, ora arzigogolati e con urgenze progressive.

Dovessi fare una lista delle cose che si annidano più o meno in profondità in "Descend... Into Nothingness", potrei stilare un elenco pressoché infinito: sicuramente la scuola svedese (dai Watain ai Dark Tranquillity anni '90), ma anche quella americana (Incantation), senza dimenticare un po' di Europa dell'est nei suoni ben prodotti e forse un pelo troppo moderni (Behemoth). Insomma, un gran casino, che in principio mi ha lasciato stordito, ma che pian piano si è svolto e cui sono riuscito a dare un senso. E ne è risultato un disco con qualcosa da dire, nell'assoluta vastità di riferimenti e influenze che J.G. conta nel proprio bagaglio.

L'illustrazione di copertina, a opera del sempre più (giustamente e meritatamente) affermato Paolo Girardi, dà un'idea verosimile di cosa si trovi all'interno dell'album: un paesaggio sull'orlo del Caos, un Maelstrom cosmico che da un momento all'altro può inghiottire qualsiasi cosa. Da provare.

http://www.aristocraziawebzine.com/recensioni/7535-dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness

Con más de 12 años de formados, los eslovenos Dalkhu se han transformado en una especie de banda de culto dentro del death/black metal de su país, merced a una carrera un tanto errática e inestable, acompañado por una muy escasa producción discográfica, al punto que la banda cuenta con un demo y un LP, uno grabado en 2006 y otro en 2010.

“Descend… Into Nothingness” viene entonces a tratar de poner las cosas en su lugar y traer a la banda nuevamente a la vida fonográfica.

Bien, adentrándonos en el CD, tenemos un trabajo completamente aferrado a los clichés y características del death/black metal tradicional, sin ningún tipo de atisbos de modernidad y totalmente inspirado en las glorias extremas de los años 90’s, con mayoría de temas rapidísimos, algunos elementos folklóricos, vocalizaciones ásperas típicas y un buen trabajo de guitarras.

Con muy poco, “Descend… Into Nothingness” es un exponente de peso dentro del underground europeo. Chequéenlo.

http://rockarollazine.blogspot.ru/2016/03/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness-2015.html

Descend… Into Nothingness est donc une franche réussite. Un album très personnel et bien composé de bout en bout, aux multiples facettes toujours bien maniées et à l’assemblage sans accroc. L’album jouit de plus d’une production efficace, puissante tout en étant assez lisible pour permettre au groupe de laisser toutes ses personnalités s’exprimer sans que cela ne devienne trop brouillon. Dalkhu nous offre donc une bien belle surprise dans une année 2015 qui a été bien pauvre en découvertes et rien que pour ça on ne peut que les remercier pour ce Descend… Into Nothingness.

http://www.thrashocore.com/chroniques/chronique/6493-dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness-2015-chronique.html

Jak powszechnie wiadomo, porządny death metal jeńców nie bierze. A już tym bardziej taki death, który jest mocno podbarwiony czernidłem. Słoweńcy z Dalkhu dobrze zdają sobie z tego sprawę i atakują materiałem, który rozwala okopy nawet takiego sceptyka jak ja, dla którego 90 procent obecnego „trv, black like Satan’s ass, death metalu”, brzmi jak jeden, i ten sam, rzyg. Mało tego, Descend….Into Nothingness ogłosiło zwycięstwo już po pierwszym sonicznym szturmie, a każde kolejne odsłuchanie wnosi jeszcze coś nowego. Chociaż bez paru zbędnych dłużyzn się nie obyło, ale cóż, każda wojna ma swoje ofiary…

Zacznijmy id tego, że dużo się tu dzieje. Dużo i przeważnie na imponującej prędkości, choć blackowy walec potrafi też odrobinę odpuścić, zmiany tempa występują tu zresztą z taką częstotliwością, że nie sposób się nudzić, a wręcz wymagana jest przy słuchaniu pewna uwaga. Temu wszystkiemu towarzyszy wprawdzie dość monotonny, ale za to bardzo głęboki growl z głębi trzewi – jak na mój gust nieco za bardzo wyeksponowany, ale co kto lubi. Są tu momenty ekstremalne, takie dla gatunkowych purystów, jak otwierający Pitch Black Cave, jak i zupełnie przystępniejsze motywy, dla heretyków nie stroniących od melodii. Dajmy na to mocarny In The Woods, wchodzi mega melodyjną, a zarazem wzniosłą gitarą prowadzącą . Tak samo Distant Cry zaczynający się prostym rytmem i chwytliwym riffem, potem zapuszczając się w wolniejsze i relatywnie spokojniejsze, lecz przepełnione niepokojem fragmenty – oczywiście podwójna stopa dalej grzeje, jakby jutra miało nie być. Potężnego kopa daje The Fireborn, podręcznikowe połączenie black’u z death’em, z absolutnie bezbłędna riffologią. Pomysłów jest tu od groma i jeszcze trochę, ale wszystko to jest spójnie połączone i przemyślane, co jest zresztą cechą charakterystyczną całego wydawnictwa. Niby chaos, a jednak doskonale kontrolowany.

Jedynie Accepting the Buried Signs nieco odstaje pod względem pomysłowości w konstrukcji. Zaś kończący E.N.N.F. to wręcz nieco przegięcie, choć w drugą stronę – dziewięć minut najeżone riffami tak, że możliwe do ogarnięcia dopiero za którymś z kolei przesłuchaniem, bo przy pierwszym kontakcie to tylko czacha dymi. Trochę to, co prawda, pozszywane metodą dr Frankenstein’a, ale tyle tu dobra, że jakoś nie mam ochoty się czepiać.

Z pomysłem, siłą wystrzału działa przeciwpancernego i ogniem godnym dziewiątego kręgu Piekła. Czyli, jakby ktoś jeszcze miał wątpliwość – brać i słuchać.”Czarna śmierć” z górnej półki.

http://kvlt.pl/recenzje/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness-2015/

What I originally thought was going to be a pure black metal album has surprised me. Dalkhu show some a ton of black metal elements, but altogether this is a definite blackened death metal album. Old school styled riffs, with a deep, sonorous voice, Dalkhu have given me a pleasant surprise.

A very obsure blackened death metal, Dalkhu‘s Descend… Into Nothingness is a very well written album, and it sounds like it has been either expensively produced, or produced with a very clear vision in mind. Sonically it holds up against many of the bigger bands, and mows down tonnes of the smaller bands out there.

With occasional glimpses into symphonic sounding territories, the overall sound of Dalkhu is full of melodicism and the band is actually pretty heavy, not just brutal or hard-edged. I have no idea where the band is from at the time I’m writing this review, but it seems like they are finding most of their influence in Polish death metal and Swedish black/death. Antichristian and blasphemous lyrics are the primary content, with a more natural, isolated aspect as well. Vocally P.Z. suits the music and lyrics perfectly. After writing most of the review, I’ve found out they are from Slovenia, so that explains a lot.

Obviously, Dalkhu will not appeal to every black metal or death metal fan out there. The long song structures alone limit their audience, and the black metal atmosphere will definitely push people away. However, if you’re a fan of Behemoth, Hate, early Opeth and Dissection, Descend… Into Nothingness will be right up your alley.

https://crownofviserys.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/music-review-dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/

Slovenian band this time. Well, I can’t remember any other band from this country that I would know… so, it’s something new and it can be either very interesting or very bad, I said to myself. Luckily it was the first and the experience of listening Dalkhu music was very good. "Descend... into Nothingness" is actually their second album, but I never heard about “Imperium” or Dalkhu before I got this tape (released by Godz ov War / Third Eye Temple and sold out already). But who cares… let’s go.

This album is quite weird, because it's not a straight up death metal, which you would normally expect. The whole "Descend... into Nothingness" music is a surprising effort to put up more unconventional death metal and even if this music has some influences from other acts (both old and new), the band managed to transform it into their own sound. And the result is something really intriguing and original, I think. I won't even bother to make some usual comparisons to this or another band, as I don't even know what would be fair for Dalkhu and what would make any sense. And well, I won't do this also because I am not sure, if I know any bands, which would really sound similar to Dalkhu. And please, take this as a compliment, especially as nowadays we're flooded with zillions of same sounding acts and only few dare to do something different and individual.

What’s so unique about Dalkhu then? Well, it’s just the way they combine specific type of melodies (which are a lot here) with some brutal, quite complex and often fast death metal what makes their music sound so original. And almost weird sometimes. It’s definitely hard to foresee what will be next and definitely the whole “Descend... into Nothingness” is one of those albums, which need time and several listens before you will get into it and actually figure out what’s it about. It’s not straight forward, easily listenable effort, there may be some memorable tunes but all are surrounded by some chaotic parts or melodic, almost mesmerizing bits with complexity of song structures, etc. So, don’t give Dalkhu opinion after the first spin of “Descend... into Nothingness”.

I’ve mentioned the melodic side of the album. Well, definitely there are many harmonious parts on “Descend... into Nothingness”, but it’s fascinating how different are these melodies, which the Slovenian band came with. They’re just not kind of melodies you would know and usually hear. They have almost black metallish atmosphere, Dalkhu sometimes comes up with them in the most unexpected ways and moments, so this is another reason why this album is not that easy to get into. And definitely it’s awesome how Dalkhu managed to combine that side of their music with harsh and brutal death metal. It often gets really fast, blasting with a killer wall of massive, heavy riffage and then again it abruptly slows down… Just take the opening anthem “Pitch Black Cave”, as it’s not only the best song from the album in my opinion (and one of the fastest also!), but a great example for diversity of Dalkhu music. Oh, I need also to mention that I love the vocals, I really like this sort of deep, but quite understandable growling. Fuckin awesome. I don’t need to say anything about the instrumentation as it should be pretty obvious that the whole performance of both Dalkhu members is spot on. The production of “Descend... into Nothingness” is also great. And I love the artwork and band logo. Yeah, very nice, surprising band from Slovenia.

Standout tracks: “Pitch Black Cave”, “In the Woods”

http://panzerfaust666zine.blogspot.ru/2016/07/dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness.html?spref=fb

The three piece DALKHU from the Slovenian town of Slovenj Gradec is one of the veterans of the scene in their country. Yet, they are not a band of much releases. The album “Descend... Into Nothingness” is only their second album in more than a decade of existence. Until now, there was a demo and the debut full length “Imperator”, who both featured the same songs. Untamed creativity looks different... And “Descend... Into Nothingness” is not that brilliant that it made me think that DALKHU saved all their ideas to create the ultimate Metal record. But this doesn't mean this album is complete rubbish, of course. The pretty contemporary Black Metal with a little hint of Death and classic Metal is well done, has one or another good idea and is far from being annoying. It's just the final kick in the teeth that's missing on “Descend...”. Maybe it's due to the rather unspectacular to polished sound, maybe the pretty Death Metallic vocals, but this album is not really forcing me to listen to it over and over again. On the other hand, the classic Metal elements in 'Distant Cry' and 'Accepting The Buried Signs' made me listen up a little bit more. On the other hand, there are songs like the closing ten-minute tune 'E.N.N.F.' that sound random and are far from catching. If we sum that all up to a final verdict, “Descend... Into Nothingness” appears to be a contemporary Black Metal album that ain't my speed, but might be of interest for some.

http://www.voicesfromthedarkside.de/Albums-EPs-Demos/D/DALKHU--10608.html

Zacznę od chyba najmocniejszej pozycji w całym zestawieniu. O Dalkhu mogliście już wcześniej słyszeć, gdyż kasetowa wersja "Descend... Into Nothingness" ukazała się dzięki naszym rodzimym wytwórniom - Third Eye Temple i Godz ov War Productions. Krążek ten można zdecydowanie nazwać perełką w katalogu wytwórni Satanath Records. Słoweńcy prezentują bardzo sprawnie zagrane połączenie black i death metalu, kładąc bardziej nacisk na to drugie. Głęboki wyziew wokalisty w połączeniu z ciekawymi, melodyjnymi partiami gitary na prawdę potrafią zaciekawić. Na plus również praca perki, która nie ogranicza się do szybkich blastów ale próbuje wpleść w ten łomot również trochę polotu. Co prawda nic odkrywczego tutaj nie usłyszymy ale słucha się tego bardzo przyjemnie i jeśli szukacie czegoś nowego do posłuchania to Dalkhu mogę bez dwóch zdań polecić.

http://www.limiter.com.pl/archiwum/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6904:satanath-records-2012-2015-cz-1&catid=14:recenzjeplytowekategoria&Itemid=11

Dalkhu - Descend... Into Nothingness (2015) SAT123 / DR 018 CD Satanath Records

Словенский блэк-дэтовый ураган под сабжевым названием производит инфернальный хаос с ноль 3-го года. И за все это время только рос, креп, захватывая все новые географические регионы. Крайний полноформат, как видим, уже был издан Satanath Records и Darzamadicus Records,что вольготно раскинула свои черные ветви в Македонии. Но совершенно понятно, что именно с этой работой группировка решила взорвать местный уровень и шагнуть на левелы мировых площадок.

Команда выпустила демку и один компакт-диск допрежь, который, кстати, был весьма высоко оценен на тех же архивах. Ну, а теперь надо определиться с этим самым словенским ураганом. Думается, его надо отнести к тому стальному крылу блэк-дэта, которое с большой долей условности называется «мелодик черная смерть»). Ибо сильная сторона Dalkhu — создавать гимны темнейшей стороне, описывать ее максимально эпично, с привлечением композиторского таланта, ориентированного на находки в так называемом «лирическом ключе». Для НАШЕГО стиля, естественно. Мы все отлично знаем, что иногда этот ключ весьма похож на ключ разводной, которым так удобно разбирать ВСЕ. А вот собирать не все.

С самого начала композер реализует схему мидтемпо и чуть побыстрее, вливая в это варево добрые кубки гитарного экстремального полива, экспрессивного и искусного, того, который хватает за очерствевшую душу металлера. И если я уж сказал о эпичности некоторых кусков струнных партий, то это совершенно не зря. Ибо гитарист следовал например в траке 3 конкретным элегическим примерам — ну хоть в симфо-хэви толкай его партии. И это, представляете, в блак-дэте, массивно переливающемся на монструозных волнах, создаваемых могучей ритм-секцией. Понятно, что композер не зря ТУТ ЖЕ резко убыстряется и дает жесткий брутальный мачо кусок, в противовес, для создания яркого эффекта контраста.

Конечно, надо сказать еще о струннике этого ВИА, он ваяет и на бас-гитаре, это одаренный музыкант, который отлично усвоил принципы построения компо на отдельно взятом альбоме. И мастерство он свое показывает и доказывает убедительно и не раз, ибо указанные мелодические куски не тривиальны и каждый раз содержат хук — крючок, направленный на целевую аудиторию.

Само собой, эти хуки - не главное в этом альбоме - главное здесь мощная истребительная атмосфера, которая таится до времени в каждом настоящем урагане. Dalkhu удается отлично креативить в этом направлении, умело взращивая крепкий гитарный полив на деструктивном полотне, создаваемом в надлежащих местах. В этих кусках «побыстрее» и таится основная разрушительная сила этого альбома, и, Слава Перуну!, таких пространств на компакте достаточно много. Здесь сформированы и так называемые «посылы катка», если вы понимаете, о чем я. Так как ПРЕССИНГ - это еще одно главное слово на штурмбаннере команды.

Во всем данном музыкальном артефакте есть заметная грань — вокальная отработка. И ведь она, как это ни парадоксально звучит, сильнейшим образом участвовала в создании соответствующего давления, организуя там свой кубометр тяжести и угрюмости. Это совсем не мало, уверяю вас. Вокалист держит набранный вес весь диск, а это ни много, ни мало = более 40 минут.

А ведь это все могло бы иметь минимум значения, если бы не звукорежи и прочие технари-волшебники, которые обеспечивали саунд на этом произведении. Их работа вызывает искреннее уважение, можно сказать - и восторг, ибо в таком стиле организовать ДОБРОтное ЗЛОвещее звучание очень трудно.

https://vk.com/wall216331265_2250

Этот альбом — вторая полноформатная работа группы. «Imperator», вышедший в 2010-ом, словенцы издавали сами, ничего о нём я сказать не могу. На «Descend… into Nothingness» трио играет модный нынче (и это, пожалуй, единственная на моей памяти хорошая мода) Black Metal, корни которого лежат в древних злодеяниях BLASPHEMY. Это значит, что в звучании DALKHU присутствует масса элементов, более характерных для дэт-метала: мясной гроулинг, преобладание риффов над тремоло, бластбит а-ля отбойный молоток, тревожная атмосфера с повсеместным использованием эффекта эхо. Играют DALKHU реально классно, и звучат не хуже, так как альбом делался аж на Necromorbus Studio. Сами понимаете, со звуком тут не просто полный порядок — подымай выше! Мне особенно нравится вокал. Чувствуется, что P.Z. и так здорово умеет рычать, а после волшебства Торе Стьерны его голос вообще сокрушает.

Хотя группа следует некоторым современным трендам, она не занимается копированием, пытается отличаться от остальных. Возьмём, к примеру, PSEUDOGOD и NOCTURNAL GRAVES. Они тоже играют чёрный метал с дэтовым уклоном, однако DALKHU делают это совершенно иначе. Словенцы не имеют никаких проблем с тем, чтобы вливать в свои песни солидные порции мелодизма. У меня с такими вещами всегда проблемы, так что поругаюсь: местами это сделано кривовато, со слишком сильным контрастом между брутальной основой песни и позитивной мелодичной частью. Но есть и обратные примеры — скажем, завершающая песня, где мелодизм очень атмосферный, глубокий. В целом, картины такое решение не портит. Наоборот, это сразу выделяет альбом из общей массы. Послушав «Descend… into Nothingness», вы будете вспоминать не какие-то отдельные вещи, а то, как он своеобразно комбинирует зло с мелодикой. Благодаря высокому мастерству музыкантов, вариативность их деяний очень высока. Определённо, «Descend… into Nothingness» — очень сильный, профессиональный альбом. А ведь я ещё не упомянул, что для оформления релиза использовано мощнейшее полотно маэстро Паоло Джирарди! По большому счёту, у альбома нет по-настоящему слабых мест. Запись на одной из крутейших студий в мире, отличное оформление, хорошая атмосферная лирика, оригинальный подход к композициям, умение обращаться с инструментами. Единственное, чего нет — это крепких хитов, чтоб вот прямо в лоб, насквозь, и оседало в мозгах. Если бы альбом подразумевался как монолитное произведение, я бы не считал это минусом. Однако разнообразие песен показывает, что это не так. Больше претензий у меня нет. Заказывайте CD у Satanath Records или пластинку у Iron Bonehead (!!!)

http://bagnik-zine.org/?p=433

Второй альбом словенского экстрим-металлического дуэта Dalkhu вышел довольно интересным творением. Признаюсь, я не слышал первенца «Imperator», зато новая работа меня уже впечатлила. Но обо всем по порядку. Итак, двое ребят, некие P.Z. и J.G., играют смесь блэка и дэта с помощью сессионного барабанщика. Собственно за что хотелось бы похвалить коллектив – за мелодичность. Несмотря на довольно прямолинейную убойность материала, его сильная сторона это очень крутые и цепляющие мелодии. Причем мелодичен не абсолютно весь материал, а где-то между бластбитами, суровым гитарным чесом и утробным вокалом внезапно просыпается соло-гитара и поет. Сладенько так поет, за душу трогает. Ее сменяет очередное музыкальное потрошилово, после чего снова наступает минутка красоты. В каждой песне благодаря такой мелодичности удалось создать свою атмосферу, свое настроение, из-за чего их можно даже различать. Я даже начал ловить себя на том, что при очередном прослушивании стал ждать именно солирующую гитару, дремлющую под громогласные раскаты всего остального. Dalkhu удалось создать в свои песнях интересный контраст, как будто переключая пресеты или даже целые треки в рамках разнопланового и неоднородного металлического попурри. Из-за этого иногда создается ощущение конструктора, но куда деваться. Что мне еще понравилось – то, что музыканты действительно постарались создать нечто свое, я даже затруднился вспомнить аналоги. В целом, конечно, Dalkhu звучат как типичные блэк-дэтовые команды, не старающиеся копировать Behemoth и Belphegor, но у словенцев есть претензия на оригинальность, задаваемая тенденцией к хорошему креативному контрасту. Получился такой убруталенный дэтом мелодик-блэк-металл. Вот, правда, с дэт-металлической стороной не все так важно – мне не очень понравился чересчур утробный вокал, но это уже вкусовщина, а и местами кажется, что материал насильно «бруталился», ибо кое-где слышно отсутствие гармонии между структурными элементами песен. Гравибласты в паре мест вообще не в тему. Но в общем итоге я могу сказать, что «Descending… into Nothingness» получился очень сильным, цепляющим и интересным альбомом, который непременно украсит любую коллекцию, особенно тех экстремальных меломанов, которые сознательно пошли дальше собирательства мастхэвов и любят искать шедевры в андеграунде

http://metalheads.by/en/review/dalkhu-descend%E2%80%A6-into-nothingness.html

2 camera-shy obscure-looking permanent members and a session drummer compose the line-up behind the Slovenian ensemble's comeback, which was released on CD, vinyl and tape by three different labels.

Dalkhu is a Sumerain word meaning 'evil spirits' so it's no surprise that lyricwise, the 7 tracks deal with: one's grave in a black cave, evoked anti-cosmic powers, being reborn in the woods at night, Erebus, the creator of pain, the doom caused by the soulkeepers and Maveth, the God of water and angel of death.

While the production at Nightside and Necromorbus studio is not bad even if not fat and massive enough, the artwork Dante's "Inferno"-reminescent painting comes at the hands of Paolo Girardi, known for his countless works (artworks and cover arts) for scores of bands.

Although still classified as a Black Metal act, there's not so much left of that as evinced right away from the opener "Pitch Black Cave"; some riffs have a Black Metal feel, but most of them are mid-tempos alternated with blastbeats reminding Immolation, Incantation and the likes, and what's more the new vocalist is mostly devout to guttural Death Metal and with little Black Metal in his DNA.

"The Fireborn" begins in a sinister way, then veers towards technical Death Metal rich in dissonant breaks, which a brief guitar solo is added to. Only a few arpeggios and riffs belong to Black Metal here, while the vocals keep sounding very low.

Uniting cleverly melodic guitars and vocals seeming to come from a deep abyss, "In the Woods" also incorporates several blastbeats and sporadic Black Metal riffs, still Death metal takes the lion's share. The relaxed parts are the most memorable along with the Folk Metal breakdown in the finale.

Intense Viking Metal rife with melodious structures: that's the core of the first moments of "Distant Cry", followed by guttural parts and fast blastbeats. The tremolo-picked tunes in the vein of Dissection are less depressive than the ones featured in the debut album dated 2010, while as for the tight drumming, that contrasts with the mid-tempo guitar and the Black Metal scream at the end.

Switching from dark and bulldozing Death Metal to dynamic riffs, all diverse and interesting, the Slovenians also decide to deliver a crushing riff in the style of Jungle Rot and a brief axe solo to conclude the composition titled "Accepting the Buried Signs".

"Soulkeepers" is based upon a horrorific intro reminding Death SS until the first riff created to prepare the listeners for the most Black Metal track of the batch arrives. Black Metal are the guitar and the drumwork, whereas the vocals are profoundly guttural as usual. Although the formula is being repeated, this composition stands out thanks to the marvellous elegant riffs that were put in, as well as the most effective axe solo of the album, which is divided in two fragments. Really noteworthy is the arpeggio placed before a fill-in section and brilliant twisted riffs to follow, before the main theme is reprised. Another axe solo is added at the final extremity of the piece, very full of pathos. To my view, this is the highlight of "Descend...into Nothingness".

More primitive and punishing, "E.N.N.F." also possesses some atmospherical breakdown riffs; also, there are more Viking guitars on a Death Metal texture and mid-tempo riffs avulsed from any musical genre that I know. There are other Death Metal parts and original riffs as well making Dalkhu's music unique; I'm sure that guitar players will appreciate the unusual and unexpected guitar plot present in this closing lengthy track and especially the conclusive licks, while drummers will notice that the blastbeating drum plot is easy but extremely effective at the same time.

There's really no reason to not take the time out and hear this underground gem you probably never even knew existed.

http://www.rockmetalbands.com/Dalkhu_review_.htm

Descend… into Nothingness è il titolo del secondo full-lenght della black metal band slovena Dalkhu, i suoi tre quarti d’ora suonano diretti e bestiali, mossi e famelici, sorprendendo talvolta con spaccati melodici davvero pregevoli e dai toni innalzanti (potremmo definirlo come l’ordine che cerca spazio nel caos, l’ascolto andrebbe preso in considerazione anche solo per tastare e vivere tali spazi).

Spicca senza dubbio quel vociare death/cavernoso scelto di vestire per l’occasione, un’interpretazione protagonista e atta a “spaccare” vistosamente l’aria; si va in tal maniera a ingigantire, a ingrossare una portata che si lascerà masticare lentamente e con fatica (non posso dire sia una fatica negativa però, intendo proprio un bel pezzo di boccone da doversi lavorare a dovere prima di poterlo inghiottire).

Non si può parlare male di Descend… into Nothingness ma è anche vero che l’album tende a perdersi o spezzarsi per brevi momenti qui e là. C’è insomma qualche piccolo calo “veniale”, ma fortunatamente niente che ci permetta di sprofondare nella totale o troppo accennata apatia. Certo è che se i Dalkhu mi avessero proposto un disco sulla falsariga della opener Pitch Black Cave (tutte le volte mi inchioda) o della penultima Soulkeepers sarei qui a parlarne in toni rasenti al trionfale, ma non è detto che a voi l’asticella del gradimento possa reggere meglio o più a lungo rispetto a quella del sottoscritto; in fondo il disco resta ben compatto e fedele a se stesso e ciò rema senza dubbio a favore degli obiettivi della band.

I Dalkhu sono un qualcosa a metà fra gli Hate Forest e una fisionomia più nordica, l’unica differenza spiazzante sarà data da quella componente death metal volutamente impastata, una presenza che si farà sentire in lungo e in largo e che potrà definire, limare al meglio le fazioni di chi riuscirà a legarsi al lavoro e chi no.

http://www.disfactory.it/recensione-dalkhu-descend-into-nothingness/