Импульс суицида

Sometime the white color can be more intimidating than black. I guess because black is the representation of the unknown, of the unexpected, it is the sensation of danger and insecurity not because of the danger itself but because of the absence of awareness. On the contrary, the white color is clean, bright but also cold, faceless and soulless. It can represent the coldness of a soul, the nothingness, death or even madness. That is why Скверна from Russia chose the white color to be the visual representation of their music. Surely, the snow in the cover is a reference to their homeland, but also it represents their cold, ugly and hostile Black Metal. Moreover, the baby held by a hand, statue of virgin mary holding christ, covered in snow, show their antichristian views or maybe their antihuman feelings. The second album of this quartet, “Импульс суицида”, was released in the 31^st of October of 2018 by More Hate Productions and it contains ten tracks.

By the first introductory track, the band drag the listener into their ugly scenery, making obvious to the listener that they will offer an intense and unforgettable experience whether he likes it or not. Their music is a mixture of a lot of different styles of Black Metal beginning with some fast neoclassical riffs which give a chaotic and elegant feeling and there is a small resemblance to the neoclassical style of the later Lucifugum. Another obvious influence is the Scandinavian Black Metal with its cold, sometimes epic and melodic, sometimes hateful and violent riffing. On top of all this, add a heavy touch of depressive Black Metal, with its characteristic disharmonic riffing, medium and slow tempo and the torturing feeling all over. In some parts, the riffing together with the vocalist’s expression reminded me of Silencer (not the vocals but the expression). The songs last from three to six minutes and they have an interesting structure, not a predictable one, with a lot of changes, a lot of different riffs, nice rhythmic passages, some slow parts, even a lot of interesting solos. Although there are one or two moments that i felt that the passage was quite unimaginative and boring, the general quality is not decreased and the tracks with those passages are still enjoyable.

Regarding the performance of the band, each member has done a very nice job both in conception and in execution of their ideas. The guitars have a clean sound, the riffs are delivered flawlessly and with a lot of passion. The bass is not that audible, but it gives the depth that the tracks need. The drums are powerful, depending on the part of the track, other times passionate, other times brutal and other times cold and repetitive. The vocalist is very expressive, and he achieves to make each feeling or image that the band wants to express, come to life. His vocals vary from deep, heavy ones to ugly, harsh screams and raw, cold Black Metal vocals, presenting a very nice performance. The production is professional offering a clean, cold sound, while the mixture is balanced so that the result is highlighting the cold and ugly feelings but also showing the quality of the musicians’ performance. The lyrics are written in Russian and I don’t understand what they are talking about, but I liked the feeling coming out of the language combined with the performance of the vocalist.

What Скверна is offering with “Импульс суицида” is a very intense and full of feelings journey into a cold and ugly scenery. I guess this is not suitable for anyone as it demands your uninterrupted attention and an open mind in order to process what it is offering. If you are a fan of more complex, passionate and sentimental Black Metal, i am sure that you will appreciate this album. The rest of you give them a chance and you may be surprised. As far as I am concerned, I will surely keep an eye on this band.