Label: Void Wanderer Productions / War Productions
Date: September 19th, 2024
Wow, this one brings back memories… Growing up on heavy metal in Serbia, sometime at the turn of the century and all the way through the first decade of the new one, you would live off of Panslavic dedication to folk motifs and pagan topics. Mixed in the same dish, best served on a plastic disc, with some sort of a Cyrillic writing on it. Obšar used the other (and older) Slavic alphabet, Glagolitic, but the song remains the same.
Metal scenes of eastern Europe all thrived on a mixture of black metal and folk music, which eventually became the first internationally recognized endemic import from behind the iron curtain. Bands like Arkona (the Russian one), Nokturnal Mortuum, Kroda, Alkonost, Khors, Negură Bunget and many others paved the way for occurrences such as this Slovak trio.
Of course, anyone who is in the least bit familiar with Slavic pagan black metal will have no trouble recognizing that the above mentioned sextet of names is quite a heterogenic one. Obšar doesn’t sound like any one of them in particular, but takes significant influences from all. These somewhat overlap but give out a coherent soundscape which could be best described as keyboard laden (to avoid the symphonic determinant) melodic pagan folk black metal. Technically speaking, Slovaks use the motifs from Slavic musical heritage instead of rushing to traditional instruments for confirmation of their dedication. In such a setting, it is much easier to keep black metal as a foundation element, as opposed to their counterparts who often completely neglect it. Therefore, you get a healthy dose of aggressive passages accompanying the leading, mystical atmosphere of nature worship. Obšar also uses ritualistic elements in their worship, especially when toying around with various types of vocals. They are followed by an appropriate musical backing, of course, inducing the effect as fully as possible.
All of it was done absolutely correctly. Members of Obšar can obviously feel this music quite profoundly. They know their background, both when it comes to their Slavic ancestral legacy and origins in extreme metal. “Propastnyk” is, therefore, a well-rounded work of pagan musical art and definitely a cool thing to spin repeatedly.
But what happens when, eventually, you stop it? Unfortunately, I must say it evaporated from my mind rather quickly. I can still easily remember all those records from two decades back and they shovel their way back into the stereo with stern resoluteness. Still, “Propastnyk” is a strong outing for Obšar, a thoroughly enjoyable one, which only pales in comparison to the classics of the genre. If you haven’t heard any of the bands listed in this review and are curious to try it out, Obšar is just as good of a place as any to start out. On the other hand, if you’re a die-hard fan of folk infused metal, this is a no brainer. If, like me, you enjoy an occasional dive into the past, you can do with “Мировоззрение”, “Во славу великим!”, “До небокраю життя…” or “’n crugu bradului”.
