Review Summary: A beefy slab of mid-tempo black metal sure to make heads bang
Odraza, who’s name simply translates to “disgust”, is a two man black metal band from Poland. 2020’s Rzeczom is a filthy slab of mid-tempo black metal sure to make heads bang around the world. The music has a groovy and crushing sound throughout that would make for some fantastic live metal.
Taking some pages from the book of Mgla, the music usually sticks to simplistic drum beats and crunchy chord progressions as the gargling vocals add to the murk. Not to say the production here is murky, just the opposite actually as this offers up a fantastic mix where all instruments are audible and fit together nicely. While a lot of the runtime sticks to mid-tempo grooves, there are plenty of frantic sections of typical black metal tropes like blast beats and tremolo guitar picking, but these sections feel all the more impactful due to them being interspersed tastefully.
All lyrics are in Polish so I am not sure exactly what the band is talking about, but the vocal performance is fantastic and even showcases some clean singing sections. Rzeczom is a very bleak record, painting a dark picture of urban decay riddled with isolation, dissociation and alcoholism. This feels weird to write but the album almost feels like a collection of black metal drinking songs, with some gang vocal sections that sound as though they are being shouted by two stumbling friends, making their way home from the pub down a dirty and macabre alley.
Plenty of dissonance is found on the record as to be expected and there is a surprising amount of melodic sections as well. The guitar performances are impressive and diverse as it transitions seamlessly between thrashy chord progressions into somber plucked riffs and strumming. Rzeczom comes highly recommended to anyone who enjoys black metal and offers one of the most unique takes on the genre in recent years.
