Review Summary: A chilling debut full-length that will leave you wanting for more.
“Песни смерти”, which translated into “Death Songs” (and will be referred to as such) is the first full length debut release by Russian act Путь. When it comes to black metal territory, Russia seems to be a powerhouse. With bands spanning across nearly every derivative of black metal; atmospheric, raw, symphonic, melodic etc. there is plenty of Russian oriented groups to choose from. Today we narrow down to the dreary, atmospheric laden Путь. Their main sub genre is fairly arguable, with the two biggest schools of thought being post-black and atmospheric, but for the sake of argument we are going to refer to “Death Songs” as an atmospheric effort.
While “Death Songs” is by no means ground breaking or deserving of the masterpiece title, it does in fact bring some unique elements to the table. On top of the general use of acoustic guitars to build atmosphere, Путь places a man by the name of Artem Mnatsakanyan on the accordion. Similar to Panopticon’s use of banjo, the accordion is used quite sparingly, only relevant when it needs to be. “Death Songs” never exactly dips into folk or bluegrass territory like the aforementioned example, but it does add extra layers on top of the already beautiful and melodic soundscapes that the band forges.
Adding to the beauty is a woman by the name of Katerina Shamchinskaya. Her voice is used to contract Andrey Kovalev’s harsh, heavy vocals. She is used almost as a way to help emphasize that the sections where atmospheric tension is built up, and the accordion begins to play, that she is there to help solidify those pieces as a moment for the listener to breathe and enjoy the serenity they are creating. Quite like the female vocals on Hex’s “God Has No Name”, she never feels forced or out of place. Katerina Shamchinskaya appears quite rarely, and whenever she does make an appearance, it’s always welcomed with open arms.
Being a genre defining norm for black metal to consist of dominant tremolo riffs, a feeling of liberation manifests itself into the listener when they find black metal that can make due with experimenting with riff styles. The guitar work on “Death Songs” fuses the generic norms with structured, well thought out guitar work. There’s so much to listen to throughout these ten tracks, and even the tremolo sections have a very satisfying feeling to them. The melody is easy to pick out but never crosses the line in becoming predictable.
The emphasis is never on the drums. In fact, just like with atmospheric powerhouses such as Imperium Dekadenz and Winterfylleth, the drums are used less to carry the record and more to reinforce and complement it. The biggest selling point of “Death Songs” has to be the accordion (it’s even advertised on the album artwork), and when said accordion is brought into the continuity of the music the drums feel like they play along with the accordion. It’s honestly a fascinating and wonderful addition to the release itself. The biggest fear for future Путь releases is that they don’t overplay the accordion, and use it in the same moderation seen here.
“Death Songs” is a cohesive, atmospheric achievement for Путь’s first release. It’s a superb release deserving of being considered a triumph, considering it’s a debut. The suggested tracks that stand out are easily Культ 1: Огни далёких холмов (Track 9), В чертоге белом (Track 7), Прометей (Track 4) and Волос твоих пепел, *ахиль (Track 8). This is a very rewarding release, and is worth every second of attention it attempts to drain from you. It can be streamed on Spotify, Bandcamp, and Youtube.
