ALBUM REVIEW: When My Blood Runs Cold – Chernota
Hailing from the North Western city of Izhevsk, CHERNOTA have quickly established themselves as one of the shining lights of the Russian underground scene. Featuring members of both DOOM ARCHITECT and PSYCHOSIS, the band have made significant waves within not just their local scene, but within the Eastern European extreme metal scene as a whole, in spite of only have one release to their name. The two-piece black metal outfits debut album, When My Blood Runs Cold is a strong and impressive statement of intent, which draws on the bleak and isolated woodland landscapes close to them in their home city and the folklore surrounding it, creating one of the more acerbic and aggressive black metal records of the year, and making their stamp on the Russian and European black metal scenes emphatically.
Cease The Insanity bursts out of the speakers at a breakneck pace, with caustic guitars and tight drumming creating a dense wall of noise that immediately grabs the listener’s attention. Powerful vocals add further ferocity to the proceedings, while solid lead guitar melodies provide some lighter moments in amongst the cacophony; something which helps to add some catchy riffs into the mix. Solipsist, a much darker, disjointed piece of music, doesn’t ease up with the intensity for a second, makes great use of jarring hooks and acidic roars to give this song much of its venom. In spite of its rabid approach, it’s one of the album’s more memorable tracks. The Scent of Death is a brilliant slab of melodic black metal with some intricate drumming and imaginative lead guitars, which help to keep this track interesting from the first note to the last. Jumping between faster and more focused sections and more mid-paced, morose ones, it’s also a very varied song that adds plenty of depth to this albums already diverse sound.
Makot Mitzrayim is a far more expansive and rhythmic affair, with subdued, yet robust, guitars carrying this song, with sparse, minimalist leads providing a break from the dirge like groove that dominates this songs sound. It’s got a great, epic undertone that counterpoints the grating, fierce edge of the music incredibly well, making this fairly lengthy offering a great way to bring this records first half to a close. When My Blood Runs Cold‘s title track is another long and discordant mix of thunderous drums, thick, grating guitar and visceral vocals, with some intricate melodies thrown into the mix for good measure. It’s got a huge, monolithic sound that draws the listener in straight away, slowly morphing into a jarring yet bombastic piece of music that ends up being one of the albums more impressive offerings. Right Inside Your Head is yet another solid melodic black metal track with a dirge-like undercurrent, which displays some impressive musicianship and fantastic vocals, making for a short, sharp shock of ferocious riffs and feral singing which complement each other extremely well.
Maleficium is a great, groove-laden track that proves to be a brief yet brilliant piece of fairly acerbic black metal, with sludgy guitar and bass tones contrasting well with caustic, acidic vocal deliveries to make a sound that is equal parts crushing and rabid. Here Is Now Your Home is a dark piece of music that makes great use of solid drumming and subdued guitars to make a hypnotic song that quickly gives way to a more driven and precise slab of black metal with some ferocious sounding vocals grabbing the listeners attention. It’s a great track that sets the listener up for the ninth and final song on the record, Samsara, extremely well. This last track is a brilliant amalgamation of the various aspects of the CHERNOTA sound, from the tight, melodic leads to the more palpable, sludgier rhythms and harsh, rasping vocals. It is intense and atmospheric in equal measure, making for a well balanced and eclectic piece of music which brings this album to a close on a high note.
As far as debut records go, When My Blood Runs Cold is impressive. It’s clear CHERNOTA have a very strong idea of where they want to go with their sound. The band have a solid rhythm section that gives this record a huge sound, and Kuznetsova‘s vocals complement the music on offer perfect. It’s a great album that lays down the foundations for future music, and sets a lofty bar for CHERNOTA to overcome very early on on their career.
Rating: 8/10
When My Blood Runs Cold is out now via Blasphemous Records.