Beats and yelling: Vintregal

Назустріч Останньому Світанку (Towards the Last Dawn)Out 29th May on ATMF The debut EP from this Ukrainian outfit is reminiscent of early Abigor in the way it roots a romanticist aspiration in the adventurism of medievally derived melodic lines. But it manages to contain this within an expression of metal at once strikingly energetic and conflicted. There is a frantic push and pull across these tracks, as the rhythmic momentum continually yanks the emotive currents in antagonistic directions. Despite this, a clear poetic character emerges from the combat, achieving an emotional catharsis that feels earned. The production embodies a clunky, 90s sheen, as every element is dialled up with a degree of intensity that today’s DAW users tend to discipline themselves away from. The resulting battle for dominance over the mix between the threnodic guitar lines, warlike drums, and emergent synth lines gives rise to what feels like a living, breathing organicism over and above the sheer energy…