Hell is Here Production, 2011
Genre: Black Metal
1. Bezkres...
2. W Klepsydrze Prochy Ludzkie
3. Wrota Nieskonczoności
After another year we have another installment from Naburus in EP form. This time they've pressed it on CD and is allegedly limited to 300 copies. There is no limitation stated on the actual release, but a website out there claims this. While I'm please that this was pressed on CD, there isn't much to the booklet. I suppose that's one of the problems with EP's... not much to talk about or show off.
Despite the lack of a full length this really is a strong improvement over "Martwy..." The production quality feels a lot stronger as well and really empowers the music. One of the interesting fact about this release is that it was mixed and mastered by Mgła. So... that might have something to do with the superior sound quality. One the aspects I truly love about M.'s mixing quality is he always pays attention to letting the bass guitar show through. Even though Naburus' bass mostly follows the guitar line, the fact that it shows up in the mix gives this album a much darker feel than their prior material. I do hear some Mgła influence showing through in parts of the material, which probably comes as no surprise. "Bezkres..." has this influence the most and it really does sound glorious. The other two tracks are similar to what we heard on "Martwy..." They are both solid songs, but I'm afraid they don't live up to the majesty of the opening track. "Wrota Nieskonczoności" is a brooding epic at nearly ten minutes in length. It would really work very well as the closer for a Naburus full-length. As the end of an EP, it feels sort of abrupt. Such as "we've suddenly reached the end already?!" Setheroth's vocals are fairly standard for most of the songs, but on this last one he pushes himself a little further. He has a much more dynamic vocal approach and tries to reach some of the higher ranged torturous screams. The good part is he doesn't overdo it and he only puts them in spots where it would be effective, so it never gets annoying.
In the end, this was a pretty good album. I still think it's high time Naburus started to work towards a full length. If they even took more time to work through some of the songs and get everything on the same quality as "Bezkres..." or "Martwy II" they would really create a very good album for sure! Here's hoping that the next time I hear from Naburus is in a full-length capacity.
Suicide Taste Production/Werewolf Promotion, 2011
Genre: Black Metal
Evil:
1. From the Black Ashes
2. Let the Nightmare Begin
3. The Night of the Forgotten Dead
Naburus:
4. Ogień Nienawiści
5. Spijając Zatrutą Krew...
6. Powrót Antychrysta
Side Evil: ...coming eventually...
Side Naburus:
I'm actually not sure which came first in 2011, this split or the EP. If I had to guess, I would say this split was first. All the tracks were recorded in 2010 and this came out earlier in the year. Furthermore the material on this split sounds more transitional from "Martwy..." as well. This is the second split from Naburus and once again it's got a professional booklet, but the tape seems to be dubbed with stickers on it. This tape is limited to 300 hand-numbered copies and I own #27.
Even though Evil is the longer running band out there, I have rarely enjoyed this music. The only reason I got this tape was for the Naburus material! I actually really enjoy Naburus' material on this split. Every new song has some very catchy sections in the Czech vein and we also are treated to a re-recording of "Powrót Antychrysta" which was the better song from their first demo material. "Ogień Nienawiści" has a strange feel when it slows down, and I think it's one of the only things I don't completely like on any of the songs. For the most part the writing is pretty strong. The rest of the riffs in "Ogień Nienawiści" have a great level of passion behind them and it really shines through in the music. I think some of that feeling was missing in parts of "Martwy...," but it really shows up in these tracks. Even though I think "Spijając Zatrutą Krew..." has a heavy dose of Czech styled Black Metal, there's a particular guitar lead he does at times that distinctly reminds me of something Helheim would do. This really conjured up some fond memories of the "Blod og Ild" album that I listened to years ago.
Naburus is steadily improving and it's really time for them to put effort into a full-length. Aside from a minor point that I didn't find great, the rest of the material is actually very good. It certainly isn't groundbreaking, but they do a good job and none of the writing is actually bad! I really do look forward to what might be coming next from Naburus.
Act of Hate Records, 2010
Genre: Black Metal
1. Martwy I
2. Martwy II
After the first Naburus demo, I was pretty eager to hear what they had in store for us next. Unfortunately, they only produced an EP with two songs. Sometimes I wish bands would just hold out for a full length recording, but it seems the songwriting for this project is pretty slow moving, so perhaps getting a couple songs every year may not be so bad. At least we get to hear new material from time to time. This is a cassette only release and it comes on a professional pressed tape and booklet. It's also limited to 66 hand-numbered copies and I own #42.
Since this band started off strong I was looking forward to hearing "Martwy," but in some ways I think I like the prior two songs a little bit more. One of the big changes is they don't have the catchy riffs that the other material had. Instead "Martwy" seems to rely on the more tried and true method of Black Metal form. Sawing riffs, blast beats, and harsh vocals. The riffs have a more melancholic form at times and Setheroth's vocals come across as a bit more tortured, which makes me think of some of the more depressive elements in the French scene for some reason. The vicious intensity that was present in the earlier material is basically non-existent on here. I think it would be interesting if Naburus tried to blend the two styles, because that is rarely ever done and if they could do that successfully, that would make for a very interesting release. "Martwy II" is by far the strongest song on this release, about half-way into that song on my second listen I really did get into the riffing a lot more.
In the end this is an interesting transition for Naburus. I think I can see where they're trying to go, but I think there is some room for improvement. I get the impression that Setheroth is a pretty decent writer, but I think Naburus is still vying for their own sound. I still look forward to see what Naburus comes up with next and I'm interested to see where their sound will finally settle.
Hell is Here Production, 2009
Genre: Black Metal
Mystes:
1. Intro
2. Last Winter
3. In Hellfire
4. In the Name of War
5. Land of Satan
6. Outro
Naburus:
7. Powrót Antychrysta
8. Noc Upadku Chrześcijańskich Wartości
Nuclear Thorn:
9. Intro / Horizon of Impaled Christians
10. Hatred Flows My Veins
11. Voice of Eternal War
12. In Honour of Death
Side Mystes: ...coming eventually...
Side Nuclear Thorn: ...coming eventually...
Side Naburus:
The same hear that Naburus did their split with Inferno, they also released this massive three way split on CD. Normally, I would think this was pretty strange, but all three bands have something in common. Setheroth is a musician involved with all the projects. I guess that makes this CD pressing a lot more sensible. It is certainly nice to have all this material pressed on CD, so I think it's definitely worth getting in that regard. However, there is no real point in saying much more about this release, because the music is reviewed below along with a sample. Enjoy!
Hell is Here Production, 2009
Genre: Black Metal
Inferno:
1. Hřbitovní Prach
2. Démonické Požehnání K Smrti
Naburus:
3. Powrót Antychrysta
4. Noc Upadku Chrześcijańskich Wartości
Side Inferno: here
Side Naburus:
Naburus are lucky to put out their debut with such a high profile band. Albeit the Inferno material may not be new, but it still prompted me to find this tape and give it a listen. I am actually fairly pleased with how much great material I've found just by listening to Inferno. Without them I probably would have never listened to Fagyhamu or Tundra as well. For now we have Naburus' debut, a solid Black Metal band out of Poland.
Naburus only submit two songs for us to hear, but they are pretty well written and very well recorded. That's usually the risk for some Polish Black Metal, what side of "raw" are they really going to land on. Naburus, is just raw enough. The music is clean enough for us to enjoy the riffs and hear all the instruments, but it is raw enough to give it that level of grit and sinister feel that I love to hear in Black Metal. One of the interesting things about the Naburus songs is that I think they are a sort of blend between the Czech sound and Polish sound of Black Metal. They do a decent job of playing a form of Black Metal that balances speed and slow sections pretty well. "Powrót Antychrysta" has this riff that really just hooks you in as it builds up to the faster sections. "Noc Upadku Chrześcijańskich Wartości" starts of very slow with a plodding feel before building into an intense and raging song. The song itself really ends around five minutes in and the rest of the track is some haunting ambience.
Naburus really aren't performing anything new, but they really are playing some solid and pretty well written Black Metal. Starting off this strong gives me hope for their future efforts and I'm really interested to see where Naburus go from here. Definitely worth checking out for now.
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