Idő

Leiru come from the Hungarian Black Metal scene and they started as the personal project of Leiru, the only founding member since 2004 when they were created. Some years passed and some demos been released, four to be specific, until Sadaist joined the band in 2010 and took over the drums. An EP in 2012 and a split album in 2015 followed until we reach the 15^th of March 2020 when the band managed to release their first full length album called Idő. It was released by Sun & Moon Records in a very nice digipak cd version and it contains six tracks of overall duration of about thirty three minutes. The mysterious cover and the overall artwork, even the font used in the booklet for the lyrics, give us a strong hint of space or cyber aesthetics. But is that the case with Leiru’s music?

The answer is ‘yes and no’. The music of Leiru is dark and sometimes chaotic, giving you a feeling like wandering in the vast, dark emptiness, a feeling that you will find in bands like Darkspace. However, this is not the the ruling element of this band. The main influences of the band, come from ’90ies Black Metal, you will find references to the Norwegian scene, there are also some Heavy Metal riffing here and there, combined with some disharmonic ones, giving a weird but interesting result. All these given under a raw sound making the result more violent and harsh, giving a very nice blend of violent, harsh, melodic and chaotic Black Metal. Another element which make the band to stand out, is the performance of the vocals. They are clean in the entire album, with an almost chanting expression, other times more narrating, other times more ritualistic and others more epic, add a unique atmosphere into the already unique result. The songs last from three to eight minutes, the structure is not predictable or boring, there are nice changes, various brutal outbursts, atmospheric passages and a lot of sentimental ups and downs. All these, along with the interesting riffing make the songs appealing, although there are some times where the continuous solo-ing becomes quite tedious.

The sound is harsh and trying to be raw, but certainly it is not primitive and it seems carefully crafted. The production is harsh but clean, presenting the instruments, very accurately, with clear sound. The mixture has put in the foreground the guitars, leaving quite behind the bass and the vocals, while the drums are even deeper in the final result, transforming them into an instrument of secondary importance. The vocals, guitars and the bass are performed by Leiru while the drums are performed by Sadaist. Let’s begin with the drums. Their sound is weak, their lines are quite repetitive, with very few interesting parts, while their performance is stable and accurate. The bass has interesting lines and there are moments that it takes the lead and add a nice gloomy atmosphere and generally adds stability, passion and depth. The guitars are the main instrument in Leiru’s compositions. They lead, they create the atmosphere, the feelings and the images, their performance is flawless and passionate, delivering the riffing in the best way possible. The vocals are clean, almost narrating ones with a different expression and approach depending on the part. In some parts they become chanting – ritualistic, in other parts become epic and in other monotonous – depressive. It is a different and sometimes weird performance that may not be appreciated by some listeners. The lyrics are written in Hungarian and they are contained in the booklet. As the band says, the lyrics are about personal relationships, dreams, nightmares and extreme emotions.

For a new band Idő would be a great album. It is true that this is their first full length release but it was released after fifteen years of existence, so I would expect them not to have done the mistakes I mentioned above. However, this is an interesting release that I enjoyed a lot, although I didn’t like much the approach in the vocals. Favorite tracks Belépsz, Idő and A kardok lehullanak. This release would be appreciated by the fans of ’90ies Black Metal but also by all those of you that you are searching for a non ordinary band with certainly a unique character.