Tumulus

Though this Slovakian quintet have been around for a decade already, this debut album follows only one EP released a couple of years ago. Interestingly, the early years of the band seem to have involved quite regular swapping of duties, so that the current bassist used to play guitar, the drummer was once the vocalist, and the current growler started off on guitar. Perhaps that made Patriarcha well-rounded, because Tumulus certainly seems to combine influences and techniques without showing any gaps in thinking or lack of understanding. Theoretically, I could just call this melodeath, but more than that is happening, with bits of thrash, death, groove, and black metal whirling about in various songs.

Indeed, certain cuts here spend a lot of their more memorable moments whirling, ‘Arbitrium’ spinning in close circles that somewhat remind me of German technical thrashers Sektor, a comparison that also comes to mind in the clean-cut introductory solo to ‘Hemera’. Those intricacies balance out a production that has murky lows from the guitars, quite clear sound on the twangy bass, and a kind of swampy groove to boot, so nothing actually sprightly or upbeat makes the album feel melodic. In part, that’s to do with the pacing too, which feels a touch sluggish for the genre and rarely ventures much above mid-pace despite the songs staying relatively brief, never exceeding 5 minutes. Instead of speed or blistering lead work, it falls to the strength of the sound to imbue the music with emotion, more in the way that a death metal act throws their all into the rhythms and vocals in order to impress the effort on the listener. All the same, moments of sparseness show up too, which is where I get that vaguely clinical vibe from, as well as a mysterious alien emptiness. Given that the entire experience concludes in less than 33 minutes, that’s a lot of ground that the quintet cover.

Expanding a little more on what I just said about the atmosphere, I suppose that Patriarcha were indeed attempting something mysterious but possibly more in line with ancient themes, as I’m deducing from the album title and cover art, which does appear to depict a tumulus or kind of hill-like memorial over a grave site. Although the song titles look to me like the last chapter of my Latin textbook from school, the Slovakians actually sing in their native language, leaving me guessing at the meaning they wish to impart. Perhaps having the ideas open to interpretation proves more interesting in any case. As far as a song like ‘Artifex’ goes, the focus sticks to riffing much more than atmosphere, so following the sections in and out of extremity and more relaxed striding pace will likely be the main appeal.

Listening a few times in a row has exposed some hooks lying slightly under the surface of Tumulus, while the song structures still feel a bit unknown, so I’m remembering things suddenly as they unexpectedly appear again. Hence, it’s not actually a problem that the album runs so short, even factoring in 2 intros that leaves just 7 full songs - only one more than the Yersinia Pestis EP - because the album feels much more involved than your typical melodic death, subtly changing as it progresses. Patriarcha have constructed quite a clever listen in this regard, and even if I can’t say that it will make my end of year list, I think I’d like to return to Tumulus a few more times to explore its recesses further.