In 2013 Polish band Túrin Turambar released two albums. 'Rzeczpospolita Czartowska' is the first one out of these, and their sophomore album. Despite their name, they do not lean on J.R.R. Tolkien on their lyrics, but on the history of their homeland. Everything's in Polish language, and this is how far I am able to go with that subject, so let's see how the musical side is.

First of all, TT have their own kind of turmoil of sludge and black/thrash metal going on. It really is rather outlandish by any means. Surely, it sounds Polish, but nothing like Behemoth, Bloodwritten or Hell United; some bands that are reviewed on AM and in somewhat similar territory that TT dwell in. Or then not. Anyway, TT mingle slower sludge metal parts with faster thrash metal parts, as well as versatile black metal elements. Sometimes, weirder thrash metal stuff reminds of Canada's legendary Voivod, and particularly their earlier efforts. Every song contains dirty, industrial vibe to it. It is not modern super-clean machinery, but steam engine. Smell of warm oil and steamy air which burns eyes... Sometimes it sounds really stripped-down, and then again, it can sound pretty rich. But it never let's a listener to break away from this broken world, never.

TT's melodies that often come with tremolo playing, are ugly, gaunt and ominous. They really do not lick listeners' arses with something catchy or handsome. Add jamming feel of the songs, thanks to circular and altering beats and tempos (with quite a lot of tom drums based "war" beats), and it gets pretty "out there". Some of the songs have more firm composition than others, e.g. two first tracks. Some songs lack of functional structure (e.g. track #6 and instrumental track #8), and when some tracks start to get into the point, they abruptly end (e.g. #5). The greatest moment here are the last two minutes, when TT burst into epic and evil warmongering.

This sounds like it was recorded during the band's rehearsals. It has a very, very live vibe to it, in good and bad. For a big part it sounds like it's really a trio playing here. It's raw, of course, which is fantastic at times, but also lame. Sometimes the drums sound damned flat and powerless, which can really lower any listener's mood. The guitar sounds raw yet somewhat muffled and crackling. Again, there's quite a bit of feedback. However, it is the strongest instrument here. The bass guitar is overshadowed by it, and it's a shame, because there's some nice bass playing here. The vocals are powerful throughout the album. The voice is scabby and raspy, more or less distorted, shouting. The drums are simply mixed too low, but sound very organic.

'Rzeczpospolita Czartowska' is not as messy as the 2010 debut album 'Corona Regni Satanae' was. It's still seamy and jamming. It is easy to mix a song with others, due to similar stuff that is heard throughout the album. Not an easy album to listen to, and definitely not suitable for background listening. If you are looking for some filthy, sludgy black/thrash stuff, this is one possible album.

Rating: 6- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
03/19/2015 15:38