It’s interesting how bands often meander away and morph into other styles – or no style at all. Which is – come to think of it – the way to go. The RMR deck crew had the folks over at Heiden down as Pagan and Black Metal from the Czech Republic. Yet, as we see more often than not, trve metal seems to lose its sharp edge after a while, and those outfits kinda drift off into the murky yonder. Often they wander into lands where the horned pagan gods and earth lore rule supreme. Or they visit other delights in this vast metallic multiverse that we navigate these days.
So, with some anticipation of mortal brutality heading our way, we hit play on Andzjel1, Heiden‘s latest short blurb. Instead, the piece greeted us with a pig-headed avalanche of Dark Metal with benefits. Some sort of a moody reminder of other sharp turns Final Coil still could have taken after their own ghostly revamp of olde ditties. Heiden present us with a moody slab of melancholy2 in grey colors that strangely reminded us of doom. Yet, it isn’t quite doom, nor is it desperation.
Instead, the band explained that Andzjel is a thematic expression of the – and I quote – “…inhospitable beauty of the White Carpathians..”. A piece that should capture the mood of the local people and some foray into the saga of the Žítková goddesses. A bunch of wise women who were – apparently – eliminated by the Soviet-dominated regime after the 2nd World War.
The record is truly reflective and you’ll need to allow some time and space for the different flavors to reach you and truly sink in. So, before you hit play, make sure to set yourself into experimental mode first. The tracks move effortlessly from (often weak) pop tunes into surprisingly harsh Dark Metal. With an astonishing number of forays into Post Metal that often dissolve into tasty and often wispy ambients. And they do that without any atmospherics to speak of. And that results in an astonishingly dry and brutally direct illustration of those wild landscapes. For more, check out the clip below. It’s a pretty perfect representation of the mood Andzjel so aptly dispenses.
Ultimately, Andzjel ain’t no record for the beastly metalhead tempered in hardened steel. However, if you are up to some experimentation, some musical representation of a people way up in a remote mountainous region in a far corner of the Czech Republic, then this is for you. Light a fire, hit play, and escape into lands unknown. And you’ll find a sturdily tasty, stubborn, yet strangely refined story told through many different style directions.
Label: Magick Disk Musick | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 11 November 2022