Date: February 3rd, 2024
Label: Pest Records
If I can choose one band from childhood that really defined my music taste in the future it is Kolac. Also… The first black metal band I heard even before my babies Dimmu Borgir and Gorgoroth. I remember that day, I put a burned CD in my DVD player and it started. I was frightened, like: “Why in the name of God do they scream like crazy? It’s not bearable for ears! Turn it off!”
But, day by day the song “Četiri Boga Jarca” couldn’t get out of my head and soul. Twelve years old Andjela went on the journey of exploring black metal without return and till this day Kolac is still on my throne right next to The Stone. The Serbian black metal scene is actually huge and the best of the entire region. Since the early 00s to this day it was evolving so rapidly but Kolac stayed true to their sound with a couple positive changes you can hear on new material. In all three albums they were reminding us of true old black metal sound and the subject of satanism as a critic to the world. Stay true black metalhead and listen to new Kolac!
Kolac (The Stake) in Serbian history is an instrument that will never be forgotten. As French have guillotine, as Vikings have blood eagle, Serbs and other former Ottoman provinces have stake. Stake was long instrument made of sharp wood, it was used for slow torture of enemies and tratiors. It won’t harm vital organs but it will give unbearable pain to the poor man. As like as Turks Transilvanian ruler Vlad Tsepes aka Dracula had the same way of revenge. Pretty scary, ha? Well, yes.
How it looked you can see on the perfect cover art of “Kolac”. If that doesn’t scare you, nothing will. It’s their remark and also next to the latest album you can see it on the “Zauvek crni” art. As an memory of this torture method in Balkans intro of this album was taken from movie called “Banovic Strahinja” directed by Vatroslav Mimica, a light scene where Vlah Alija (main protagonist) put one peasent on the stake and he seaks help… He was dying for three days. One of the first movies with that subject and presentation of stake and its purpose.
It was a vivid warming up for black metal blasphemy in the song “Kolac” and I must say those maniacs really surprised me. I could say it’s upto the really good production this album has but they put some innovations into their sound and got out of the pure and rough black metal genre. Not so black metal(ish) fast but with the same dark energy only Kolac can provide. One of the tree songs in Serbian in this album I can freely say is my favorite! Next are songs whose names confuse you in French and Italian and it gives a really goodeffect. When you say “Terra si mouve” or “Monsieur de la Nuit” it sounds like someone casts a spell on you. Trust me, entire songs sound like a spell from hell itself. But my accent here is actually on songs written in Serbian which is Kolac’s biggest remark of all. They are not the only one but surely next to The Stone the best lyrics in Serbian with such a gotic lyrical atmosphere. Edgar Alan Poe would envy them.
As always for lyrics, it is responsible mister Milos Šebalj aka Grob, a bass player of Kolac. My favorisation of those songs is not from some national stupidity but only because they sound so much better in Serbian than in some other language. Strangers maybe won’t understand but us here are always delighted by Kolac songs written in Serbian. As I said those four Satan’s servants from its beginning have one or maybe two subjects they follow and one of them is criticism of the church, discrimination of Jesus Christ and christianity alone. It’s on the level of satanism and as in songs like “Burn” or old but gold Raskršten point is pretty clear. One of the songs Kolac actually owns during their almost 20 years long career is the song “Raskršten”. Here you can hear it in a younger version with hyaluronic acid and face lifting cream in the form of really good production and played by musicians with much more experience in playing then before. It’s always good to have something old on the album next to new stuff. Serbian costume says that, not me. Long awaited new album was born and we are all really happy about that. And now, Kolac must promise they will have many more live shows! Please, don’t disappoint me after this masterpiece!
