ashes to ashes, dust to dust…
As mentioned in previous reviews, Concreteweb is a channel to promote and support (anti-commercial) Music that dwells in spheres of Aural Underground Art. Sonic Supremacy for the Elite, you see… It is not a page to discuss political, ideological, religious, societal or ethic subjects. We all know that our planet is sick – ruined by the human kind – and this trespasses questions about good and evil, or about tolerance versus extremist opinions of any scope. This said… With a sardonic smile on my (pretty) face, I got the latest epos of Poland’s finest Dark Fury earlier this year. Strzelać, Zeby Zabić!, which means ‘shoot to kill’, was recorded during the first half of 2023 by K.R.D. aka Raborym aka K., who also runs one of the labels behind this release, Lower Silesian Stronghold. K. wrote all music and lyrics, and took care of all voices and strings. Once again, he was helped out on drums and percussions by Diathyrron, with whom he did share some other outfits, such as Ohtar, Selbstmord or Thor’s Hammer. The material was engineered and mixed at the Bunker Studio with Rafał ‘Kolan’. This time, the recording got released in different physical formats: vinyl, tape and compact-disc (jewel-case). It has strange cover artwork (except for the cassette edition) and comes with the English lyrics and with sober yet nice, explicit inner visual artwork. …and a statement, Command No II, about imperialist aggression. It’s a honorable manifest against an unnecessary war, caused by some narrow-minded government and its mentally disabled dictator, threatening our European homelands. Anyway, Strzelać, Zeby Zabić! aka Shoot To Kill! is quite a short album (unfortunately, it clocks just 31:33 minutes), divided into seven hymns in the known vein of the past. And as from opener Don’t I Have The Right To Take Revenge?, Dark Fury show their mighty approach of hypno-atmospheric and timeless Black Metal. This first track, to start with, is a slow epic with a sense of pride and victory. Some excerpts do breathe a bathorian elegance, while other parts offer bleakness, finesse and impending doom. The next composition, then again, called As Riders Rush Through The World, exhales the purity of the old-schooled (mainly Nordic-styled) glory. Much faster and much more energetic in essence, this blackened assault overwhelms without taking prisoners alive. Vengeful riffs, thunderous drums and rabid growls are gathered like a warhymn, which organically continues through the following lullaby, the title track. Strzelać, Zeby Zabić! carries on through this approach, which reminds of the former efforts by Dark Fury. Yet then again, things are little more complex; no, I do not mean that the project now dwells in spheres of high-tech Black Metal, not did they evolve towards progressive proportions. Things are simply richer, more lush and overwhelming – another grandiose and satisfying step towards eternal recognition and in-depth respect. It has to do with the well-balanced sound-quality too, of course. It’s remarkable how organic the mix has been taken care of: all strings, all vocals, and all drums / percussions come with an equally-divided representation. The instruments or voices do not overrule each-other; on the contrary, the professionally-balanced interplay is top-notch. In addition, the production is quite clean, lacking any background noise or so. Yet then again, it has not been engineered with some fear of sound contamination either; I mean, the result offers that intriguing, and necessary, unpolished roughness too behind the production. One cannot deny the massiveness that crawls forth, out of that coarse yet ingeniously chosen recording quality. In the vein of all former Dark Fury records, this one too offers everything that must please the open-minded Black Metal audience, especially when caressing the magnificence of the traditional school. Okay, it might not be a renewing album, but Strzelać, Zeby Zabić! brings forth all details and ingredients that caress one’s intolerant ear-drums. I am not sure whether I think this is their best album to date or not (I won’t know how to define this preference for album x or y), but believe me if I say that it might be one of my most brain-satisfying ones having been released in 2024.
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