Time Signature In a thunder of violent glory...

Genre: modern black metal

I know that polished production is very much a lynching reason in some black metal circles, but nonetheless Balfor, who - despite this being their debut album - have been active in the underground since the late 90s and can claim black metal authenticity, have chosen to go with a very polished, clean and defined production rather than the raw reverb-ladden productions that typically characterize a lot of black metal.

Personally, I don't mind the polished production, because it allows me to hear all the details and good ideas that are found on this album. The style is quasi-technical with a lot of changes and a considerable amount of riffs in each song, and since Balfor seem to seek inspiration beyond the confines of black metal, there are death-y and thrashy riffs to be heard on this album, too.

The core style, I think, is still black metal, as there are several black metal elements, too, such as the many triple-metered blastbeats accompanied by more atmospheric style riffage that this release contains. Of course, the polished, virtually reverb-free, production takes away the atmospheric dimension from this release perhaps rendering this type of riffage slightly weak.

I can live without the lo-tech production, though, and I appreciate the variation that characterizes this album.

Vehemency Along the years, starting from the mid/late 1990s, Ukraine has provided lots of great atmospheric black metal laden with pagan influences and raw productions, but I guess this is one of the first times when I encounter modern, crystal clear, melodic black metal influenced by the likes of Dimmu Borgir and latter era Immortal. Apparently it’s not so uncommon anymore as it’s been less than a few weeks when I reviewed Quintessence Mystica’s debut album, and now it’s Balfor’s debut’s time.

Barbaric Blood mixes heavy rhythm sections (just hear all that death metal on ”Shadow of My Raven Wings” and ”Light’s Demise”) with more melodic and occasionally symphonic elements, and stays in balance this way fairly successfully. The powerful, though to my taste a tad overcompressed production makes the album sound massive, but also a little soulless - a common curse with metal albums that are so carefully played and tuned in the studio that they start losing all unpredictability and are made to be as safe and sound as possible.

The above applies to Barbaric Blood hundred percent, but we’re not dealing with a total failure record here because there are some good ideas among these 44 minutes, such as ”Behold My Hate!” and various other moments that rely on Balfor’s (fittingly said) most barbaric side. Thanks to these few moments that stand above mediocrity, I’m able to rank Barbaric Blood as a 2.5 star album, but in truth it’s not far from a lower score. Barbaric Blood plays with too safe elements to trigger any proper interest in me.

This could be an ideal album for someone with a mainstream metal background getting into black metal, but then again, why not to just direct him/her towards the essential black metal records instead of a polished album that doesn’t have so much in common with the originals? In Ukraine’s standards, this might not be the most explored territory yet, but a territory that would be perhaps better to leave unexplored anyways.