Až přijde čas

Lahar are legends in Czech thrash metal underground. One cannot simply describe how much of an impact they actually had on the Czech scene as a whole. Their extreme and ultra-aggressive form of thrash metal has become an inspiration for every upcoming band in our small republic in the middle of Europe. And I would say that none of all of their recordings is as influential as "Až Přijde Čas" is.

"Až Přijde Čas", or if you want it in English "When the Time Comes" is a work of a band at its highest point. Back then, vocalist Banán was still in the band and wrote all the lyrics. And these lyrics are what I’d like to put emphasis on first. Banán was and still is a genius lyricist (just check out his work in hardcore band "Protijed"). Originally, just a punk singer, he got into thrash metal and joined Lahar, where he started writing the lyrics. His lyrics were always known for a very specific way with words. On one hand, vulgar and primitive ("A všude fízlové, který to baví, rozdávat rány, obrovské vřavy." Eng.- "And cops everywhere, who like to beat up, massive turmoil" as we can hear in "Krev"). On the other hand, quite intellectual and poetic ("Ovce i pastýři, vlci a beránci, všichni jsou v hmoždíři a všichni krvácí, víra se vytrácí, nebo se obrací v krvavé bezmoci, od rána do noci." Eng. - "Sheep and shepherds, wolves and lambs, all are in the mortar and all bleed, faith fades, or turns into bloody helplessness, from morning to night."). But above all, first and foremost, always incredibly and genuinely angry.

The anger of Banán is not just in his honest lyrics, but also in his masterful screaming vocal performance, which is however audible and thus it is easy to understand the anxious message he is trying to convey to the person who listens. It is really mostly the lyrics that make the EP what it is, as it is a conceptual EP. The themes of this masterful work center around decline, decay and apocalypse. Not only of societal character (as we can hear on Krev, which talks a lot about God's wrath), but also of personal character, as decline and decay can be easily translated into anxiety and personal issues (Oheň is basically about that). Mráz and Déšť then combine these two themes into a gut wrenching synthesis of personal and societal destruction. Fortunately for Czechs, and unfortunately for everyone else, these lyrics are in Lahar's mother tongue, so unless you're not a Czech speaker, or don't use Google translator for every sentence on this EP, you'll have nothing out of them. I will assume then, that the lyrics are not really what the wider world will look at. The instrumental side of the music will probably be infinitely more interesting to most of the people on this site, so I shall continue talking about the actual music.

So... What about the music? Well, this is one of the greatest strengths of Lahar. You don't need to know Czech to understand the emotion, which this EP is trying to convey, because the riffs themselves are apocalyptic sounding and they create such an intense atmosphere that you will just imagine a hopeless apocalyptic landscape, like the one on the cover art. The riffs are fast, angry, atmospheric and when they need to be, they are not afraid to become melodious to strengthen the rope of astonishment, anxiety, anger and pure aggression around the listener's neck. Drums are fast and precise, often passing into incredibly fast blast beats, which are on par with most brutal death metal bands. The bass is audible and dirty, which is all you need from it in this genre. There are however, occasions, when all the instruments stop, and the bass is allowed to shine. I genuinely cherish these punk-ish moments.

I can’t stress enough how much I recommend this masterpiece to every Czech metal punk, who wants something more from the music he/she listens to, than just heaviness and moshing riffs, but also wants to be moved by it on a deeper level. I’d say that this album is surely a 10/10 for everyone who speaks Czech. However, even non-Czech speakers can enjoy Lahar’s work for its DIY attitude, uncompromising aggression, energy, and genuine believable anger. I fell in love with this record, and I wouldn't be surprised if you would too.