Novej Qalhnjënno

Cold, raw, aggressive and all done in a language known only to Trhä themselves - or rather, itself since there is only one member, Thét Älëf - "Novej Kalhnjenno" is a surprise packet packed with great frost-tipped riffs and a wintry atmosphere that at times is unearthly, even malevolent. Multi-instrumentalist / vocalist Thét Älëf does not muck about: after a short head-banging drum solo intro, he (maybe she) dives straight into bashing out raw wintry atmospheric BM / dungeon synth that careens all over the shop like a mad rollercoaster and threatens to leave the drum kit a pulverised mess. In the time it will take me to say "tu tajna ebvundahhna ëmat tëpat bë innamvaj", the title of the first track, this eleven-minute number will already be over. This song can hardly be called an introduction: it's a full-on ride through the wildest parts of the Trhä universe, up, down and round and round through more undulating curves than speeding sidewinder snakes, and with hardly any braking at all except in the middle part of the track where it goes all dance-groovy and the shouting never stops. The sighing elfin keyboards and the distant declamatory vocals only add to the sense of insane runaway chaos. Astounding how this track can keep the riffs (with new ones coming on right up to the end) and blasts of percussion and cymbal crash together in a mad rush that doesn't collapse at all. Towards the end the track becomes more sinister with the addition of a deep-voiced chorus to the ominous background synth wash.

The second track is more straightforward but still as alien, harsh in sound and atmosphere, and hostile as the first. There is more melody and the track is more song-like but still with that strange fantastic and sinister fairy-world ambience. The drumming may have a trashy sound but those drum rolls are becoming a distinct feature of Trhä's music. Beneath the lo-fi production, the screaming vocals, the drum bashing is a good song of strong martial rhythms, catchy riffs and a distinct synth-generated ambience of a mystical, magical mediaeval world where humans and fairies co-existed and met, though most likely not amicably. Just when you think though, that some semblance of normality, even boredom, is settling over the EP, along comes "goneegaba ...", a truly oddball freakout of synth alien mediaeval folk melodies backed by fast-paced drumming and dominated by Thét Älëf's deranged ravings and shrieks. An insane organ is added to the mix and like the first track, the music manages to hold together, even with a sudden drop into quiet dainty ambient wash that lasts a brief time before tipping listeners back into the maelstrom.

The very strangeness of Trhä's world of Dark Mediaeval Fortress BM where fairies, elves and sorcerers live their own lives while humans live theirs as battling feudal lords or those lords' downtrodden peasants, and the two dimensions of humans and little people so close as to allow intermingling, proves very compelling and helps make this short recording very absorbing and immersive. The rough production which gives the work a frigid atmosphere and makes the guitars noisy adds to the sense of an alien and sinister world. Stormy and chaotic the Trhä universe may be but the music does have a structure and direction, and listeners can follow individual instruments and riff loops. Solid musicianship with impressive drumming skills and batshit screaming vocals round out this very odd and eccentric world.

Where Trhä hails from, I know not but I would not be surprised if this act had been inspired by the nuttier elements of the 1990s-era French Black Legions.