Откровения дождя

Cryptic. Cryptic is a word used to perfectly describe almost every aspect about this band that comes into my mind, be it the name, the music, the band members, hell I don't even know where to put this in my current emotional state rather than where all funeral doom goes... to the deepest and darkest corners where you stand exalted, yet cowered into your own mind, observing, longing, lamenting. That is the sort of thing you should expect before listening to any funeral doom and with Otkroveniya Dozhdya, you get yourself the perfect goods delivered.

Cryptic because there is little to no information about this band anywhere and there is almost little to zero chance for an outsider or foreigner, who does not yield the power of understanding of the Cyrillic alphabet or any Slavonic language for that matter to merely try and decipher what has been created and what is being presented here. The only language that you will need is the emotive deep understanding of grief, which is infused into your consciousness through the music. Like a liquid slowly dripping itself through sand in a funnel, we have Otkroveniya Dozhdya please us with a gigantic effort that is both majestic and fierce. The imposing force of their selftitled 2009 release strikes you in the heart like a cold spear, merely meant for piercing your mind and shattering you from the inside. For those who are not acquainted with this peculiar subgenre of heavy metal, here is a small explanation of what awaits you. If you never liked Sabbath or if you don't like slow music, building up itself using mesmerizing atmospheres created through slow structures, haunting keyboards and synths all combined with the intenseness that can only be described as a near death experience, then chance is that this genre is probably not for you. There always is the exception, but there is also the warning.

Otkroveniya Dozhdya is Russian for "Revelations Of Rain" which depicts the genres romantic, dark and gloomy, yet poetic nature, which stands as the expression behind the actual music. The basic formula for grief has been set by many bands with many standards, some prefer to be ruthlessly slow and minimalistic, some focus more on the enclosing features of keyboards to create the respective atmosphere. What makes this album exceptional is the good combination of both, resulting in a very progressive approach to the genre, sounding fresh and full of energy, although everything is going very slow and the guitars appear to swallow the listener if one would just turn the volume up high enough. This is one hell of a ride and highly recommended for any fan of the extreme.

(originally written for metal-observer.com on 8.12.09)