For those who don’t know, The Stone are the leader band of the Serbian black metal scene with a prestigious twenty year long carrier behind. This band was in fact formed in 1996 in Belgrade as Stone to Flesh, and then changed name to The Stone in 2001. Nekroza (2014) is their seventh and latest full-length, an astounding, complex, multifaceted album.
Apart from the first 50 seconds of “Kamenolom”, which are a forgettable intro, what we have is a personal and profound black metal. The Serbs show off a cutting-edge songwriting, with a riffing that is able to vary from contemplative moments to epic atmospheres and furious blast beats. The aforementioned “Kamenolom”, after the initial 50 seconds, starts in earnest with a powerful riff in tremolo. Sometimes the overall sound of Nekroza reminds me slightly of German Dark Fortress, especially of Eidolon and Ylem, with its combination of powerful riffing, tempo changes, melodic inserts, technical skills, and fulminating solos. I think these echoes of Dark Fortress are audible already from the second song “Košmar”. Of course The Stone are much more than that. The Serbian quintet is formed by skilled musicians who are capable to perform at a high technical level; this is evident from the virtuous solos in “Sunovrat”, the eponymous track “Nekroza” and “Mrak”, from the elegant drum evolutions, and the bass lines. Excellent also the vocal performance by singer Nefas. The production is outstanding, great sounds and a well-balanced mix. The lyrics are all in Serbian and are about death, darkness, nihilism, misanthropy, evil, all this packed up in the individual prism.
The Stone have long remained unknown to a large part of the audience, perhaps only because they do not come from Scandinavia, but Nekroza is an album that can achieve a breakthrough. Personal and varied sound, thought-out composition, high technical performance are the strengths of this album. A must for those who want to listen to something new.
Notes:
Release date: October 1 2014 on Folter Records. Playtime: 55:47. Nekroza translates for ‘necrosis’ in Serbian.
Tracklist:
1. Kamenolom
2. Košmar
3. Crno zrno
4. Dani crni
5. Lov na veštice
6. Sunovrat
7. Nekroza
8. Mrak
9. Pesimizam
10. Predgroblje
Personnel:
Kozeljnik: Guitars
Nefas: Vocals
Demonetras: Guitars
L.G.: Drums
Usud: Bass
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
Apart from the first 50 seconds of “Kamenolom”, which are a forgettable intro, what we have is a personal and profound black metal. The Serbs show off a cutting-edge songwriting, with a riffing that is able to vary from contemplative moments to epic atmospheres and furious blast beats. The aforementioned “Kamenolom”, after the initial 50 seconds, starts in earnest with a powerful riff in tremolo. Sometimes the overall sound of Nekroza reminds me slightly of German Dark Fortress, especially of Eidolon and Ylem, with its combination of powerful riffing, tempo changes, melodic inserts, technical skills, and fulminating solos. I think these echoes of Dark Fortress are audible already from the second song “Košmar”. Of course The Stone are much more than that. The Serbian quintet is formed by skilled musicians who are capable to perform at a high technical level; this is evident from the virtuous solos in “Sunovrat”, the eponymous track “Nekroza” and “Mrak”, from the elegant drum evolutions, and the bass lines. Excellent also the vocal performance by singer Nefas. The production is outstanding, great sounds and a well-balanced mix. The lyrics are all in Serbian and are about death, darkness, nihilism, misanthropy, evil, all this packed up in the individual prism.
The Stone have long remained unknown to a large part of the audience, perhaps only because they do not come from Scandinavia, but Nekroza is an album that can achieve a breakthrough. Personal and varied sound, thought-out composition, high technical performance are the strengths of this album. A must for those who want to listen to something new.
Notes:
Release date: October 1 2014 on Folter Records. Playtime: 55:47. Nekroza translates for ‘necrosis’ in Serbian.
Tracklist:
1. Kamenolom
2. Košmar
3. Crno zrno
4. Dani crni
5. Lov na veštice
6. Sunovrat
7. Nekroza
8. Mrak
9. Pesimizam
10. Predgroblje
Personnel:
Kozeljnik: Guitars
Nefas: Vocals
Demonetras: Guitars
L.G.: Drums
Usud: Bass
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com