KOSTNATĚNÍ — ÚPAL (review)

Album · 2023 · Black Metal

4/5 · 2023-12-09
siLLy puPPy

Brashly making his presence known on the black metal stage in 2023, the mysterious D.H. aka Hornet Murmuration delivers a new slice of his one-man band KOSTNATĚNÍ fueled with Deathspell Omega inspired black metal enshrined with Turkic folk music exoticism and technical wizardry workouts. Alternating between EPs and full-length releases, 2023 finds at the second album’s worth of diabolical dementia in the form of ÚPAL which in the Czech language means “Heatstroke” and given how scorchingly hot this release is, one must be cautious as not to descend into unintentional self-immolation.

Yes you read correctly. KOSTNATĚNÍ hails from Minnesota in the USA but adopts Turkic folk scales into his technical black metal furor and although black metal lyrics are rarely intelligible without the proper written accompaniments, in this case D.H. has found a unique gimmick by screaming, rasping and wheezing his blasphemous subject matter at full decibelage in the national tongue of what is today the Czech Republic leaving us only to speculate his true heritage and why anyone would even bother unless they were already well steeped in this tiny niche in the greater Slavic family of languages.

ÚPAL features seven tracks that see session drummer Andrew Lee of Azath, Disincarnation, Ghul, Ripped To Shreds, Serpent Rider and Skullsmasher at the percussionist’s throne and delivers some drum kit abuse par excellence giving the album more of a band effect than would otherwise be reflected by the mere backdrop of programmed drum machines or a lesser talent. As far as the rest of the instrumentation goes, D.H. proves to be a beast on guitar, bass and tortured vocals thrashing around like a hideous monstrosity from Hades itself where he found the portal into our world and is now engaging in aural atrocities.

While KOSTNATĚNÍ may at times evoke a deep sense of Deathspell Omega worship as heard on classic recordings such as 2010’s “Paracletus,” this act keeps itself relevant and out of the clone labeling department by distinguishing itself with the lush exotic musical arrangements as heard in Anatolian rock, folk and all things inherited from the former Ottoman Empire. The fusion is seamless with blistering jittery riffing frenzies doused in dissonance and utter evil commingling effortlessly with the pleasing Turkish sounds of the Orient. The blistering abuse and bantering bravado take up a traditional album’s length of nearly 39 minutes no weak spots warranting an early departure.

While the black metal churns on like the most frenetic of the lot, the moments of slower folk-fueled moments such as the opening parts of the track “Opál” allow a bit of a break from the boisterous bleakness of the sonic raping of the senses. While the Deathspell Omega influences can be a bit in your face with those infamous jangle guitar tones and jittery math rock unease, D.H. manages to walk a pretty decent tightrope act between the two opposing forces that make an unlikely truce in the sonic war at play. For my liking this is an excellent album that cuts through the din of the competition to stand out in one of the metal world’s most crowded nooks. Each release showcases an increase in competency and originality so it’s fair to say that KOSTNATĚNÍ is only getting started.