Instinct Prevalence

A strange thing about this release is that the two demos compiled here, though released before 'Gates Of Nocticula', are substantially better than that release, which really begs the question as to why that one was chosen to be the one given a solo digipak re-release. It also makes me question why 'Gates Of Nocticula' is so bad again; it's an island of mediocrity in the sea of Lucifugum's otherwise pretty solid discography. 'Instinct Prevelance', on the other hand, is a much more worthwhile item to pick up; both the demos on this disc are strong and unique pieces of black metal that can be recommended to any fans of the underground reaches of the genre, and can be listened to time and time again while retaining excitement and interest. In short, this is one of the better demo items of the Ukrainian BM scene, so if you're devoted to that style, you'd most certainly want to grab this.

The first five tracks of this release form the 'Path Of Wolf' demo, which is probably the closer one to the 'On The Sortilage Of Christianity' style of symphonic black metal. It's very firmly entrenched in the traditional Ukrainian mode of symphonic black metal, with more than a few flickers of 'Goat Horns' present alongside the more aggressive and thrashy moments of early Dub Buk. The music is uptempo, and though not quite as fully saturated with synths as albums like 'On The Sortilage Of Christianity' are, certainly employs them as a significant melodic voice. Numerous passages, however, are devoid of synths entirely, and it's at those moments where Lucifugum decides to break out some of their black/thrash riffs, with deftly strummed chords popping up amidst fields of throbbing tremolo. The overall sound of this demo could be quite closely compared to a more primitive and upbeat form of 'On Hooks To Pieces!'; not a bad thing in my mind.

The concluding half of this release is 'Skvoz Ravnodushnoe Nebo', which certainly gives the first demo a run for its money as far as which is best. This part is nowhere as immediately pleasing as the first, and on the first couple listens, I dismissed this as 'Gates Of Nocticula 0.5'. Subsequent listens, however, revealed a very mature slab of music heavily influenced by 'Misyac Pomsty'-era Dub Buk along with Emperor and some very unique and neoclassical uses of synths. The music on this side of the release seems substantially more aggressive than the rest, with the synths giving the music an attacking and tragic edge over the venomous and incisive attack of guitars. This is closer to 'regular black metal' than Lucifugum typically does; though the intrusion of symphonic elements is notable and important to the music, this is closer to Emperor than Nokturnal Mortum in a lot of ways, but this actually works in the music's favor, making some of the most memorable early Lucifugum material to date.

'Instinct Prevelance' is a strong release that could at first be dismissed for its position as a demo compilation, but don't be fooled into thinking this is unimportant, immature material. These demos stand up easily to many of Lucifugum's full-length albums, and as such, can be heavily recommended to any fan of the band or Slavic symphonic BM in general. If you enjoy material like 'On Hooks To Pieces!', you definitely don't want to miss this one; just give it some time to grow and you'll be pleasantly surprised.