Měsíc, les, bílý sníh ~ Moon, Forest, Blinding Snow

We are diving right into analyzing the record, without babbling any idle talk. The album is offering 49:56 minutes playing time, distributed on eleven songs, which still have to be categorized as pagan black metal, although there are the mentioned changes. Paganized clearly could be defined as pagan black metal, as they used tons of flutes and other folkish instruments but Mìsíc, les, bílý sníh barely uses flutes. The definition has to be done through the quite simple song structures which are enhanced through acoustic guitars and bagpipes and of course the image of the band. In comparission with its predecessor there are way less tootling passages, but more nags with pure guitar sound.

That should not mean, that there aren’t any folkish passages or sounds in which the origin of the band shines through, as you can hear directly in the opener called Red Moon Rising (Drinking Offering). This song contains diverse characteristics of the humpaa-fraction, but those aren’t as overwhelming as before. Instead of the dominating flutes they utilize majestic guitar leads, sometimes on played on both guitars and blast beats. Songs like The Fire Worshipper could remind you of the early Dissection, while other songs (for instance O Orile i Zmiji) inherit the epicness of Skyforger.

The song structures are, as mentioned before, held quite simple and so you won’t find any real surprises while listening to each song. Although there is this simplicity and the catchy passages, the tracks don’t get boring as you find new details in the sound on each iteration of the record and it can take many of them to get hold of each detail. The riffs creat, mostly through the compact sound, a quite thick atmosphere which is compacted through the use of majestic lead melodies or even choral chants. The production is a bit sterile but well done.

Conclusion:

If you compare the debut Paganized, which was a bit shriek, with Mìsíc, les, bílý sníh ~ Moon, Forest, Blinding Snow, you will realize that the latter is the better. This record is as solid as a rock and convinces through its majestic atmosphere. Although the song structures are quite simple, they contain several details which you can discover on each iteration. The folkish passages and songs like Ryhope could scare some people away, especially the ones, that are traumatized through the pagan metal hype, but they are offering a great contrast to the rest of the record.

Originally written for http://threnodies.com