Wilytank Trist have been called the best depressive suicidal black metal band out there. That really doesn't mean a lot to me because of my lack of interest in the subgenre, but I thought I'd pry anyway if just for the sake of getting more listening and reviewing experience in the genre. I ended up getting my hands on 'Stiny', the project's debut. Going in, I still had a little skepticism. Is there something beyond the photo of the main band member's smug look while all bundled up? 'Stiny' was released in 2006 so it couldn't be considered ground breaking for DSBM. Trist are from the Czech Republic and you don't really hear about a lot of bands from there, so I guess Trist could have helped put the country on the metal map.

From a distance, "not ground breaking for DSBM" holds a little more water than usual. Productionwise, 'Stiny' sounds very similar to Mutiilation: raw guitars and that distinct hollow sound in the drums. I do think 'Stiny' has a more melodic and varied sound which would definitely make it better than a large number of Mutiilation songs. There's prominent lead guitar in parts of songs that has an almost Agalloch tone. While the drums simply shift between slow and mid pace tempo while staying in 4/4 meter, drummer Pestkrist puts in plenty of fills to shift things up. And the production must be screwing with my head because the cymbals make it sound like someone's playing a harpsichord in the background.

Though the music does vary frequently enough, the tempo's refusal to do so kinda makes this album drag a big, especially "Samota" and "Pohøeb svìtel", the longest songs on the album. It wasn't, however, the type of drag that made me bored and want to quit listening; but it might have had some effect on why I don't find this album to be a totally amazing experience. I've heard Xasthur songs that were more eventful due to their tempo changes.

'Stiny' is nowhere near bad or even mediocre though. It's very good for what it is. T and J know how to play their instruments and in fact play them in a way to make some interesting DSBM. I'm still put off a bit by the tempo arrangement so it's not an album I'd listen to on repeat; but if you're looking for a decent DSBM album, you could do a lot worse than this. Even my limited exposure to DSBM unearthed some really bad albums.