Vérzivatar - Transcendent Infection (2010)

Vérzivatar is the Budapest, Hungary duo of Balázs "Hoarfrost" Caseres (drums) and Elzeril (vocals, bass and guitar) whom have both played in a number of bands during the past ten years, though out of all of them Marblebog happens to be the only one I'm familiar with. 'Transcendent Infection' is their 2010 debut through Mercenary Music after earlier releasing the demo, 'Komor felhők árnyékában' in '06 as well as a split in '07 titlted, 'Deep Horizons of Eternity.' Vérzivatar is a Hungarian word which means, bloodstorm.

Vérzivatar

Through this debut Vérzivatar takes the listener through a six song thirty four minute episode of depressive black metal, though this is quite different from the more common and generally boring Burzum-ish and Xasthur influenced filth that has become all the rage in recent years.

The music is generally played at a slower doom-ish pace with plenty of hiss and treble on the guitar, though the production is by no means bedroom or lo-fi, but definitely still underground in appearance. The music conveyed is usually of a more hopeless and quite dark character, though some of the riffs in 'Decadent March Of Purity' sound downright cheery and sort of energetic in their delivery, but that's mostly because this song has some more mid-paced parts to it while still keeping a sense of looming melancholy buried below. This particular one also has an admirable guitar solo at the end of it that sort of brings the song to an epic climax. That song aside, the record has a mostly gloomy and delirious vibe to it that alternates between slow gloom and mid-paced rage that I much enjoy.

The drum work is fairly good too, with a few fills and interesting rolls its not bad at all, though it tends to get buried under the loud guitar and vocals often. Interestingly the bass is present if you listen carefully enough and you'll notice it has a very foreboding presence. Going back to the vocals though, they are some of the most unique I've ever heard. Its hard for me to make an honest comparison without thinking of their Hungarian brother, Attila Csihar, but that's just what comes to mind. Largely though think of Attila's voice on Mayhem's 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas,' but far more raspy, screechy and generally more maniacal and you'll have an idea where Elzeril's vocals stand. On the other hand they are so strange in their delivery that I can't even tell if the lyrics are in English or Hungarian and since the booklet offers none I'm still left in the dark on the bands poetry.

'Transcendent Infection' is definitely a worthy and memorable debut, though maybe one or two more songs wouldn't have been a bad idea, but what is offered here is quite enticing. This is the bands only album so far and it should be interesting to see them expand on their next release and hopefully gain a few more listeners around their morbid sound.