Szron "Pure Slavonic Blasphemy" vinyl LP

Limited to 300 copies.Under license from Under The Sign Of Garazel Productions

Recorded and mixed at Rehearsal Hall in August 2001.

Szron’s debut demo is some truly spectacular primitive black metal. I think it really draws heavily on the earliest of the Norwegian scene blending the likes of Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, and Satyricon together in one menacing experience. I feel like Gorgoroth is one of the more reigning influences on this release given how some of the more raw songs sound like “Heathen Blood”. Blend all this with the early Polish Black Metal scene and you’ll have what “Pure Slavonic Blasphemy” really sounds like. You can hear Sacrilegium, Arkona, etc. influences within this music and Szron put it on a more updated recording. Don’t take update too literally, the recording is still raw and harsh, which really makes this material shine through. Strangely one of the longer songs “The Appearance of Hoar-Frost” is the one I didn’t like as much as the others. The riffing didn’t feel as solid in the mix of the rest of the album. But I think they more than make-up for this with the longest track “Moonlight Enshines the Altar of Frost” which is quite an intense, yet gloomy ride steeped in some serious Gorgoroth styled riffs. The rehearsal material is pretty much what you would expect it to sound like. It’s a raw and harshly recorded rehearsal with just one guitar, drums, bass, and vocals. It’s an interesting piece in the sense that some of the tracks have never been released. Unfortunately, the writing on the first two tracks is a pale shadow compared to the works of Pure Slavonic Blasphemy and Frost Eternal. The writing is a lot more primitive and doesn’t have that mesmerizing edge to it. Instead they focus on the gritty, almost punkish, style of Black Metal. The Forest’s Spectral King is a real welcome change to the first couple of tracks. Here the old Szron style really shines through and gives us a pure dose of well written Black Metal. This is also where the bass guitar really starts to show through in the music for some reason, its almost like the first two tracks are this entirely different thing from the remaining tracks. Return of the Warlords has some really spectacular writing and I really hope this is indicative of what’s to come in the future Szron releases. Pure Slavonic Blasphemy really a must hear release if you’re into some of the pure Black Metal of the early 90’s. Szron does an excellent job of really making this material shine with production that is both harsh and audible at the same time. If you’re already a Szron fan, this is definitely a great collectors item for you to hear some unreleased material!

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