Inwokacja pierwotnej mocy

You can find the multi-instrumentalist named Balrog in various Polish bands in the Death / Black genre, some of them really good bands. However, it seems that he wanted to create a project which would be his own, personal way to communicate his thoughts, feelings and music ideas. So Czarna Magia, Black Magic in Polish, was created in 2017. The release that I have in my hands, is their first EP release, called “Inwokacja pierwotnej mocy” and it contains five compositions of overall duration of about thirty-two minutes. The album was released in 17 January of 2019 by The End of Time Records in cd format and it is limited to 500 copies. By the very nice cover, which is the painting of Michael Wolgemut, “The Dance of Death”, and combined with the name of the band, could refer to death or necromancy magic, you would expect to listen to that occult element in the music. Is this the case?

The music that you will listen in this album is a combination of various old school styles of Black Metal. The band that i think is an obvious influence for Czarna Magia, is the also Polish band Cultes des Ghoules. Of course, this is just the first name that will pop into your mind but listen after listen you will continue to reveal more and more influences and styles. Some names that you may think of are Mortuary Drape, Denial of God, Mayhem and Von. The riffing sometimes is raw and nihilistic, sometimes more violent and cold, while there are a lot of slow, doomier parts which set a more occult, dark atmosphere. There are also the punkish, very energetic parts which lead to the furious outbursts with the characteristic Scandinavian tremolo riffs. The tracks last from five to nine minutes and their structure is good. The different passages and bridges and the alteration of the atmosphere from foggy, dark and occult to frozen, rawer and more violent one, help the song to evolve smoothly and not become boring despite their long duration.

I can’t say that i was satisfied by every instrument that Balrog plays in here. I will start with the guitars that i find them very good both in their accurate and professional performance but also the ability to express the images and set the atmospheres very well. The bass in the four out of the five tracks, is played by another musician and it is not as audible as it should. However, the production is bassy so the tracks are bassy enough and raw giving that almost primitive, occult aesthetic, along with the balanced but basic mixture give a suitable result. The vocals are brutal, deep and very expressive Black Metal vocals, while there are also some clean, chanting ones which add variety to the tracks and make the occult feeling more intense. On the other hand, the most annoying element of the album is the drumming. It is not only the weak, unstable performance and the basic, repetitive patterns, but it is also the shallow, dummy and annoying sound. It is a pity, because if the drums were performed by a more experienced musician or their sound was not so bad, the album would be much better and far more enjoyable. The lyrics are written in Polish and they are contained in the two-page booklet.

The first release of Czarna Magia is not a bad one. The problem with the drums is a serious one but there are very interesting ideas that if you can overlook the drumming, you will enjoy “Inwokacja pierwotnej mocy”. I guess if they have corrected that issue in their later album, they might have become a very interesting underground act. If you are a fan of old school, raw and occult Black Metal, listen to this release and keep an eye on this band.