Hard, heavy sounds from Slovakia that will get adrenaline flowing
MOST genres typically have talent concentrated from certain countries. The Kpop and Jpop empires for obvious reasons are built on acts which are native speakers of Korean and Japanese. Country and Western has its ground zero in the deep south of the US. Hip hop, R&B, soul and urban sounds are largely dominated by artistes from the US and UK. EDM and its attendant subgenres are hevily populated by European deejays and producers.
One genre that has spread its tentacles far and wide is heavy metal and its many offshoots. Be it death, black, grind, industrial or even glam, the genre has global appeal and genuinely good acts emerge from the unlikeliest of places.
Even before the Great Internet Revolution that made these sounds available at a click of a mouse, outfits such as Sepultura, Sarcofago and, closer to home, Cromok were proving that genuinely good metal need not always come from the US or Europe.
This makes following metal in the internet age a pretty wonderful and exciting time, as quality sounds are emerging from all corners of the globe and gaining recognition thanks to streaming platforms and much wider reach of specialist publications such as Terrorizer, Loudwire and Metal Hammer.
One band to catch the attention of the global metal community is Besna. Formed in 2017, the quartet hail from Bratislava, Slovakia. This is its latest album - Krasno (which means ‘beauty’).
With a sound that borrows heavily from past masters of occult black metal – Absu – the Slovakian outfit has added a touch of atmospheric gloom to update the sound.
Opening track, Zmraka Sa, is ambitious in its scope and follows Blood Incantation in incorporating progressive elements in the song. Without sacrificing any impact, the song is an epic journey in heaviness with Besna further adding driving hardcore punk beat for cranium-crushing momentum.
Hranice is absolute aural adventure as Besna pulls out all the tricks in making the tune stand out – complex time signatures, mid tempo interludes and effective use of female vocals. It all packs quite a wallop and much can be said for most of this record.
Labelling themselves “post-black / progressive metal”, Besna touch on topics such as ecology and societal issues. But that does not really matter unless the listener is proficient in Slovakian. What is pertinent is the band’s innate ability to craft songs that are engaging with their super-dense arrangements as well as their ability to induce bouts of serious headbanging.
There is nary a dull moment, even when the band head off in Porcupine Tree directions. It is all very tastefully stitched together making this album a very worthwhile half an hour.
