Review Summary: Of empty houses beyond the taiga.
Popiół – Introibo ad Altare Dei, the debut album by Thy Worshiper, is by all means a classic of Polish black metal. One of the most recognizable pagan-themed records of the 90s, it carved a stylistic niche of its own with unmistakably gothic stylings and being among the first black metal albums in the country to prominently feature women on vocals. It gained a cult following since, but on the other hand, marked the end of the band.
Despite coming back with a new album in 2005, Thy Worshiper have been more or less inactive until the early 2010s when it came to releasing new music. Since then however, they maintained a stable course and forged their signature style of oppressive folk metal they are known for today. Their sixth long player
Demony Wschodu (“Demons of the East” in Polish) is a continuation of that sound – a new compound of brooding tribal rhythms and unnerving vocals. At the same time, it distinctly alters the band’s style to elicit fright in an entirely new way.
A readily apparent change is the new vocalist: Eliza Ratusznik. Being the latest addition to the band’s lineup, she is a good fit – her open voice, often subjected to layering and echo effects, blends well with the instrumentation and does a fine job at maintaining the atmosphere of unrest. Although she already proved to be a skilled musician in the sludge trio Narbo Dacal, her performance as a folk singer further shows her versatility and proves crucial for a band that draws much of its creepy aura from female vocals. The album also marks the return of Bartosz Maruszak behind the kit, where he reigned during the days of the modern classic
Czarna dzika czerwień and the monumental
Klechdy. This time however, his work contains excessive amounts of fast, double-kick-driven passages and a newfound affinity for blast beats. The guitarists adopt a crazed, dissonant approach that adds a layer of insanity to their continuously memorable riffs. The band’s leader Marcin Gąsiorowski blurs the lines between speech, screaming and whispering as he’s seething into the microphone. Although all of this contributes to a more blackened sound than in the past, the typically folk section is far from neglected. The wind instruments often come through in short signals, most similar to owl calls and equally startling. The tribal percussion handled by Grabaż adds heaps to the record’s diversity and heaviness, and aligns perfectly with Gąsiorowski’s venomous vocal delivery – most noticeably in “Strach”, a spoken word piece devoid of metal elements.
Such music, channelled through dense, “from under the rug” production, succeeds in conveying the overarching theme of fear.
Demony Wschodu is the first part of a trilogy, set to continue with
Nawia and
Strach, which concentrates on this particular feeling. The album’s title already points to all sorts of evils dwelling eastward of Poland: the imperialism of Moscow, the suffering of Polish masses exiled into Siberia, the Chernobyl catastrophe, the lingering threat of mass destruction weapons. The lyrics, stemming partly from Gąsiorowski’s historical studies and his own family’s past, paint vivid pictures of literal and metaphorical demons that have been affecting our country for centuries. This, perhaps, is the greatest strength of the record. Drawing inspiration from a different part of our national identity than straightforward folklore, it effectively channels the anxiety of the present day. With it, 2026 proves to be a good year for Thy Worshiper. While celebrating the 30th anniversary of
Popiół, the band keeps focused on moving forward with equally great results.
