Русь понад усе!

Each Dub Buk album is radically different from the next, and 'Rus Ponad Vse!' might be the band's greatest departure from a previous release yet. The 'Misyac Pomsty' demo compilation was a sudden, impassioned burst of Nokturnal Mortum-style symphonic black metal, and 'Idu Na Wy!' saw the band pursuing an extremely epic, progressive, Roman breed of black metal, but 'Rus Ponad Vse!' is something else entirely. In what could be seen by many as an evolutionary step backwards, this album concentrates on a filthy, nationalistic breed of thrash-fueled black metal with unusual symphonic overtones, with little of the vastness of previous works. It comes as a great surprise, then, that the material on this album is almost just as strong as the two major releases previous, which is quite an achievement given the massive change in musical style.

Strangely enough, despite how different the structure of this music is from the previous works, at no point do you think this is anyone but Dub Buk. The bands unique style is undeniably preserved despite the dramatic change in genre, and despite the differences, one could listen to 'Misyac Pomsty' and this album back-to-back without ever thinking something amiss. The general tone of the album is hard to mistake for anyone else, and the usage of synths, though unconventional for both genre and in the established style of Dub Buk, is easy to trace to its origin. Dub Buk manages to commit wholly to a new style of music but doesn't sacrifice any of its individuality in the process, which is a feature that more bands would be wise to observe.

The tone of this release is heavily militaristic and dogmatic, with a large pinch of Slavic folk influence added to the thrashing black metal; it sounds like the sort of thing a bunch of Ukranian guerrillas would be listening to as they clean their AK-47s. The occasional more melodic, pseudo-neoclassical moment pops up, but the majority of the music is taken up by rough, thrashing BM riffs with some very intense rhythmic textures and absolutely vicious vocals, which are split between a black metal snarl and a gruff Slavic shout. The synths are perhaps the strangest element here, not nearly as domineering as they were on previous releases, with long stretches dedicated simply to thrashy riffs and a more 'typical' metal sound. When they do appear, they alternate between the traditional neoclassical scores of previous works and very odd, pseudo-melodic electronics like on 'Sva-Batalyion'. It is perhaps the most guitar-heavy of Dub Buk's albums to date.

While the riffs are certainly taken greatly from the realm of thrash metal, they don't seem similar to any other artist in particular. The chord structures are unusual and generally close to Ukranian folk, and the riffs are generally very resistant to the chug/gallop patterns of traditional thrash. Streams of high-speed tremolo riffing are broken up by savage, downpicked breakdown sections, and overall while the music could be described as somewhere in a realm between thrash and black metal, it doesn't seem to resemble either as greatly as it should. The production is still rawer than a Century Media release, but all instruments including bass are very well preserved and easily audible. That instrument in particular is, as usual in Dub Buk's work, a big player, offering numerous counterpoints to the guitar riffs and frequently doing something of its own.

I wouldn't quite describe 'Rus Ponad Vse!' as being as good as either of Dub Buk's other two full-length works, but it's only the most minor step down, and there are no real flaws to speak of apart from not being as instantaneously classic as releases like 'Misyac Pomsty'. It's still an excellent and extremely unique album that is a shining light in the mostly stale black/thrash scene. It's a very worthwhile listen for anyone in the metal scene, and fans of Dub Buk's previous works or more typical Slavic symphonic black metal in general shouldn't be discouraged by the new direction: it's excellent and very well thought out and at no point makes sacrifices for the sake of the audience. An excellent album from a remarkable band.