ALBUM REVIEW: Międzyczas – Odium Humani Generis
Born out of more depressive, darker reaches of Poland’s black metal scene, ODIUM HUMANI GENERIS have slowly been developing their bleak, mid-paced sound ever since the release of their debut demo, Zmora, in 2018. The band’s debut album, Przeddzień, in particular showcases a stark and sombre sound that touches upon DSBM without fully embracing it, lending them a sound that is not only influenced by that style and second wave black metal, but also elements of post-rock at times.
The band’s latest album, Międzyczas, sees the beginnings of a subtle shift away from the kind of melancholic, slower compositions and into something much more varied and impactful at points, ensuring that it stands apart from everything the band has produced prior to it.
Lustro, a fairly reserved offering with a crystalline guitar sound and quiet, pattering drums, gently eases the listener into the album, and initially feels closer to post-rock than metal, but quickly shifts towards a steady piece of atmospheric black metal that makes for a great way to settle the listener into the record. Idée fixe, the fist proper song on the album, carries forward some of the more ethereal elements from the preceding instrumental track, but applies grating guitar hooks and opaque, snarling vocals into the mix, adding a harsher edge to proceedings that makes for a much more second wave inspired take on black metal, without having to resort to overtly raw and sepulchral production or a faster pace to achieve its meatier sound.
Międzyczas further builds on this huge and imposing sound, with chaotic touches and more animated musicianship on all fronts making this a more urgent and ferocious effort, with the sharp melodies contrasting really well with the throaty vocals and injecting a little light into the over-arching darkness. Popłoch, with its driving bassline and forceful, pounding drums, is a far denser song than the previous two, with only the soaring leads retaining any of the slicker components from what came before it, with the music lurching towards a muscular and brooding slab of black ‘n’ roll with some authoritative rhythmic weight behind them that only adds to the gradually growing intensity that has been taking on a fuller form progressively through each of these first three tracks.
Drogowskaz, with its frenetic drums, visceral vocals and blistering guitar lines, is easily the most belligerent and rabid number so far, with coarse vocals vying with grating riffs and a generally more aggressive approach to create something that is far removed from the warm and subtle tones of the opening track, but also significantly more noxious than even the last track. After this caustic and relatively unhinged monolith, Jarzmo abruptly shifts focus back towards the cleaner, measured style that was present on the album opener, complete with underlying ambience and subdued musicianship, developing a great, slow burning feel early on and starting out as a much more hypnotic affair than anything else on the album. Even as the song reaches its more energetic and powerful moments, there’s nothing present that comes close to the raucous ferocity of the last song, but it’s still an incredibly effective and even mesmerising piece of music that drastically changes the overall feel of the record and makes for an impressive change of pace.
Granice moves back in the direction of this fast and furious sound, but the main aim of this particular offering from ODIUM HUMANI GENERIS is to blend the polar extremes of the preceding two tracks, with the end result being a much more intricate and inventive sound that sees polished, punchy lead guitars and grandiose atmospheres tied with razor sharp, jarring flourishes and searing vocals, bringing this album to a close on a varied and epic note.
The differences between this record and Przeddzień aren’t immediately obviously upon first listen, as there’s a lot of crossover, from the depressive, crawling pace of many songs, haunting ambient undercurrents and slick melodicism, but there’s a lot more to this when you scratch just below the surface.
The prominent use of chunkier hard rock influences and outright aggression and fast, cacophonous tempos at certain points is far removed from even the most visceral material on its predecessor, with the dividing lines between these two styles being significantly more blurred at points, allowing for more varied songwriting that elevates many of these songs. Hopefully this is the start of a seismic shift away from the more measured DSBM flourishes in future music, as it often proves to be incredibly effective when it comes into play.
Rating: 8/10
Międzyczas is out now via Malignant Voices.
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