Finest Czech Doom/Death metal with folk elements.
oh my doom gut has been like in paradise in the last few weeks. First a delicious sip of Smutná harmonie and now this darkly melancholic schnapps from the DISSOLVING OF PRODIGY distillery. And if the doomrock merriment from the Slovak Republic was like a sip of sparkling white wine, then René Krystyn and co. pleased my digestive tract with a sip of bitter spicy mead, which can make one's head spin with joy. Experience cannot be denied in this case, after all, DOP's roots go back to 1989 and the emerging death doom willow has three demo branches and two regular album branches. I only got to know this band when its third branch - Loučení se světem zeměským - sprouted, but the way it hit my taste makes me forget about my ignorance of the past of this sad fivesome.
For DISSOLVING OF PRODIGY, the current album is a breakthrough in a way, because, as I understand it, the previous production was written and sung in English. But the thematic focus of the new work somehow demanded Czech lyrics - it is appropriate to write about things from the Slavic past in the Slavic language. I probably don't need to remind you twice that a good Czech text, which is not only rhythmically bearable, but is also about something, is a complete conundrum for musicians. And when the main motif of the album becomes Slavic and proto-Slavic times, then that is already a mouthful of a worthy verse writer. And DISSOLVING OF PRODIGY have such a verse writer at their disposal - I can't say if that Reňa is René Krystyn, but I will give him a thumbs up for understanding his craft. Rhythmically clever, the rhymes are gently euphonic and the rendition of individual themes is free of unnecessary pathos and big-mouthed clichés. The language of the lyrics is slightly archaic, the structure of some verses is reminiscent of legendary jingles (Stará země, Rüjana) and at the same time the verbal component of the album can easily cope with expressing inner processes (Hořící mosty, Proměny slov). Neither the eulogy of the great Sám the unifier, nor the hymn to the unloved god Radegast, nor the cry over the destroyed Arkona sound violent or ridiculous - on the contrary, they have something genuine, unadulterated in them. Perhaps sadness over transience and the scent of faded times that will never return. That is really close to my soul...
And the music? Orthodox and woody doom metal full of death knots. Music built in long-winded funereal tempos and with the help of black magic of veiled and floored axes, which were honed to perfection by the undertakers of the Dead Bride. So nothing terribly original... But I have repeated probably a thousand times on this page that the skillful resurrection of old recipes is not worthy of contempt, especially when bands do it in a unique way. DISSOLVING OF PRODIGY have very decent instrumental potential - excellently working rhythms are not ashamed to surface with the sharp strumming of Chudý's bass, or the imaginative transitions of Pavel Fojtík's percussion artillery. Likewise, the guitar duo Krystyn / Minx does not rot only in the earthy depths, but can resonate into a mournful play of drawn-out moans, can jump in a laughing lead, or an almost Celtic supporting riff (the brightened and lust-drunk Maiden War and the equally cheerful First Lesson of Joy). The axes are accompanied by keyboard walls that adapt to the mood like a chameleon - orchestral samples of tears, darkly whistle, or, conversely, clearly float above the dancing orchestra. Prim on Fačenie se světom odremským they play, of course, grimacing positions, convincingly developed in the mournful Rüján, orthodoxly murmuring in the Staré země, stormily raging in the death-obsessed Mohylové třebové and soaring to heaven in a mournful prayer to Radegast, the Unkind God. The pinnacle of melancholy is definitely the beautiful and loving Homage to Moraně, where Krystyn leaves the home waters of dense, gut-pulled growling and, in the company of the beautiful voice of Johanka Teryngerová, proves that a deliciously deep, clean vocal slumbers in his chest. At the same time, the band's musical expression proves that it can sell its mood-creating ability even in quieter corners.
DISSOLVING OF PRODIGY succeeded in what weighs on the soul of all those militant Slavic black girls. They managed to express respect for the old days, they managed to embody, in addition to feelings, a fraction of their unknown glory into music. And they succeeded only because, instead of ostentatious poses and hanging around with an iron Sunday, they embodied all the feelings into music and lyrics. For fans of earthy doom/death, another must-listen is born, for those who like pagan melancholy, Farewell to the Earthly World is at least worth a careful tasting...
Sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RazaeWG9jhE
