Year: 2019
Total Time: 41:56
Label: Werewolf Promotion
Ιt is easier to think of some football and basketball names from Serbian players, even the name of A/C Electrical System’s inventor Nikola Tesla, than a name of a metal band coming from this country. Unlike the rest of the Eastern European countries, Serbia has little to offer in the Black Metal genre and in metal, generally speaking.The Black Metallers SVARTGREN with their second album “Divlja vatra”, come to change this fact! Although they were formed in 2001, it took them fourteen years to release their debut album “Prazan grob” in 2015. During the years earlier, they were not very active as they had released a demo, an EP in 2006 and a promo in 2010.
“Divlja Vatra” sounds like a mix of the second wave of Black Metal with elements from the French and Polish Black Metal scene. Raw and aggressive with its roots in the old school sound, but with a modern approach at production. The guitars, with the angry tremolo riffing and the drums have the main role throughout the album. By hammering mercilessly with angry rhythms and filled with” paranoid” melodies (that remind a lot of MGLA), they create a dark pattern in the compositions.. As long as the mechanisms of the songs are attracted by the catchy melodies and the sinister growl screams intensify the atmosphere, SVARTGREN follows the raw and melodic path of the traditional Black metal. Although this may sound familiar to many fans of the genre, in fact the magic is hidden in the music that the Serbs have created from their hearts.
SVARTGREN may not be something first-heard in “Divlja Vatra” as there are moments that sound like TSJUDER, RAGNAROK and 1349, however they managed to create a decent Black Metal album that sounds overtly raw, melodic and depressing at times. SVARTGREN invite us on a nostalgic journey to the familiar Black Metal paths without sounding like obsolete imitation. For that, they earn our respect!
Rating: 7/10
Editor: Nikos Manousis
Related Link: SVARTGREN – Official Page
