'Womb of Primeval Darkness' is the debut full-length album by a project of Ukrainian artist Varagian, which evolved from his prior band ForestGrave. All but one of the songs appeared on the Do Skonu's debut demo 'The Archaic Rituals' which was released in 2010, and I guess these recordings are the same.

Before any listens to the album itself, 'Womb of Primeval Darkness' surely carries all kinds of imaginative opportunities, which are evoken by its cover artwork and the lyrical themes handling such things as Slavonic myths and mysteries, and witchcraft, everything being performed in Ukrainian language. How did it feel when this uterus of primordial darkness opened up and emptied, then?

It felt archaic, if not quite proto-black kind of archaic. The second wave black metal was a big influence for Varagian, without any doubt. Starting with various sounds of nature and gloomy non-distorted guitar, the opener is a Scandinavian style assault of aggressiveness, crusted with eerie and melancholic melodiousness, and chord progressions that invoke pure evil. It's served with scathing tremolo riffs and fast yet loose drum beats. The song is very good and atmospheric indeed, lifting up the expectations towards the rest of the album. The second song presents three new things to Do Skonu's music: Punky, simplified songwriting, and Slavonic musical touches, plus sweeping synthesizer work. The song is, again, fast and attacking, and does not fail in delivering, when considering its various parts. The third song isn't quite so memorable, but it takes a turn into things with which the album started, meaning more melancholic yet ominous approach. The album's evolutionary circle is over, but rest of the songs have their own kind of identity as well, even though presentation can be similar. E.g. the fourth song has feelings of might and infinity on it, and the fifth is a more simplified track, if not quite a black metal version of Ramones. While the closer is almost 10 minutes in duration, it's about full-out attack for the first 2 and a half minutes before descending into some of the most atmospheric parts on the album.

The vocals are one of the stronger characteristic of Do Skonu. As mentioned, they are sung in Ukrainian. It does sound great here. The CD version contains the English translations, and that is a very, very positive thing. The lyrics aren't about typical "Kill for Satan! Worship him!" stuff. They are far more philosophical and poetic than many of black metal bands' lyrics, but still comprehensible by every being by one's own norms. Here's a short snippet of them:

"Within me burns the Black Light of flames,
Kindled by the forefather of sterile Darkness.
And the wounds are bleeding with pus,
Attaining the unity of all the universes within yourself,
Worshipping Him, the giver of Primeval Darkness."

Varagian's voice has been effected with some distortion and reverb, but is agonized yet malevolent black metal growl. However, they are rather human, after all. The guitar tone is heavily distorted and quite high-pitched. It does not go to"the bee mode", thankfully, but ends up being more powerful. There's slight reverb on most of the instruments, and it simply makes it all more spacious. Sadly, the production as a whole isn't very potent.

The album is a promising effort in ancient art of black metal. It's mostly about familiar things, but it also manages to add some bits that make it sound characteristic among the vast mass of black metal releases. It could have included more of these ambient things, but at least this way they aren't overdone. Another thing is the atmosphere, which could have been far richer. Now it ends up being a bit too samey as a whole. But, as a debut album, it is already armed with a few hurting curses. One for those who are seeking archaic black metal with a Slavonic twist.

Rating: 6½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
05/04/2014 12:19