Hamvakból...

Ygfan is a band, coming from Hungary and the least someone could say about this quartet is that they are a unique band. Hamvakból… is their first full length release, containing seven tracks of about forty seven minutes. It was released by Sun & Moon records in 28 of May 2018, in a very nice digipack format, containing a four pages booklet with some basic information about the band and the lyrics both in Hungarian and in English. The first impression that I got by the cover of the album was that this is another depressive Black Metal album, and although I was not entirely wrong, the album is much more than that.

What characterizes this album is the intensive atmosphere, the vivid feelings and images. For sure the ruling feeling is this gloomy, melancholic, at times depressive one, however the band is trying to express more complex feelings and images and I don’t know why but from the first track I am sensing an urge of the band to come closer to nature. Not to a primitive state of humanity, but an urge to be one with the wise side of it. Their music is slow to mid tempo, combining some powerful depressive Black Metal riffs full of sentiments, with their obvious prog rock and 70 ‘ies psychedelic rock influences. The alteration between clean and harsh vocals is a very nice idea and the execution of this idea is perfect, so the tracks become even more interesting. The songs last for six to eight minutes and although generally the music is interesting and don’t make you get bored, in some passages, those psychedelic influences may become quite boring.

Regarding the performance of the band and the technical details, everything is done in a professional level. The production of the album is clean and warm, producing a very emotional sound which fits to the style of the compositions perfectly. The guitars are clean, in a lot of parts with no distortion at all, they deliver their lines flawlessly and in the more complex passages, they show the members’ abilities. The bass is warm and clean, it supports the guitars very well as also it adds depth to the music. The drums are minimal, stable, with good technique, with their very nice performance they add quality to the entire album. The vocals is another special chapter of this album. The vocalist sings both in clean and harsh tone and his performance in both approaches is very good. I really liked that although the band sings in Hungarian, they provided the English lyrics too. They are expressing in a very poetic way, their philosophical questions and beliefs about humanity and nature.

Even if you like Ygfan’s music or not, you have to admit that this band is a unique addition to the vast Black Metal ocean. I really liked Hamvakból… and I think is a very interesting album, however not every Black Metal fan may be able to appreciate it. The long tracks, the psychedelic and prog rock references or the alteration in the vocals tone, although I think this elements are characterizing the album and making it to stand out from the rest, they may be hard to be digested by some listeners. I suggest you to listen to it.