Пламя наших сердец

Originally released in March 2023 as an independent digital album, "Пламя наших Сердец", the sixth album from Tomsk-based DSBM duo Taiga, now enjoys a second life in CD digipak format on Siberian label Ksenza's roster as "Flame of Our Hearts", the literal English-language translation of the original Russian-language title. That Taiga has come so far since forming over a decade ago in 2013 is worth celebrating, even though a few members have come and gone, and the current line-up has existed only since 2021. The one constant though is Nikolai Seredov who writes all the music and lyrics, plays all instruments and performs the lead vocals. With Alexei aka Scorpos as Seredov's co-pilot since 2021, Taiga may well be enjoying a renaissance, having released two albums in three years and the second one now having been picked up by a label for wider distribution.

The vocals are still as shrill and shrieky as I recall them, having reviewed some of Taiga's work in the past, but they are distant enough in the mix not to detract from the powerful music and sweeping riffs in the album's opening track "Дорога домой" ("Road to home"). The slow riffs have a raw edge that contrasts well with the delicate piano melodies, and there's just enough reverb to give the song depth and a lonely, alienated atmosphere. Lead guitar solos, mouth harp and soft whispered vocals all help bulk out the moody and depressed aspects of the song. The following song "Грязь заметённых следов" ("Dirt of swept tracks") is a bit faster with two layers of guitars, one playing a busy and choppy riff, but it is just as pained and downbeat as the first song.

Subsequent songs don't differ much in their musical formula, though "Забыть" ("Forget") and the later "Познать" ("To Realise") respectively feature background choral singing or folk singing behind the ticking percussion and mournful droning guitar riffs in addition to the shouting. Usually lasting four to seven minutes, the six tracks are all punchy packages of strong melody and riffing, all continuously busy and flowing, and relying very little on effects. Solo piano melody appears on a few tracks which brings out their inner emotional pain and turmoil. Even the synth drumming, with its ticky sound, can be effective in emphasising pain and alienation when it's sped up. Of the six songs on offer, the better tracks are the first two, "Дорога домой" and "Грязь заметённых следов" with their anger and Burzumesque riffing, and middle track "В плену воды" ("Trapped in water") with its variety: choppy riffing and piano playing note for note, synth percussion going haywire, and a bass guitar pursuing its own lonely journey make this moody bluesy post-BM track the highlight of the entire album. The last couple of songs, including the title track, don't quite rise to the level of earlier work but the long title track, tortuous though it is, finishes off the album emphatically.

The entire album is well written, performed and recorded, and the only real irritant is the lead vocals, stuck in the higher and more shouty end of their range. At this point in their career, Taiga probably could consider branching out of their lyrical and music safe zone and explore other themes and musical elements that could broaden their scope and make them more than a technically good and consistent DSBM band.