MALOKARPATAN Vertumnus Caesar LP

The fourth MALOKARPATAN album Vertumnus Caesar.

Somewhere around autumn last year, when my friend and I were fanboying and discussing extreme metal bands from Eastern bloc countries such as Tormentor, Root, Master’s Hammer, Kat etc., he introduced me to a Slovakian heavy/black metal band Malokarpatan. The band is very particular for its lyrical themes of Slovak folklore and witchcraft, while their dark heavy metal music is a wonderful blend of oldschool heavy metal and first wave black metal, a cross mix between Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, Master’s Hammer and Motorhead. Ever since I gazed into their world with their first album Stridžie Dni, I was absolutely astonished with the dark medieval vibe of that album, whereas their second album Nordkarpatenland wonderfully expanded their style, but their third album Krupinské ohne was where the band really dwelled into even darker territories and it is in my opinion perhaps the best entry in their discography. When I read that their upcoming fourth album Vertumnus Caesar was scheduled to be released on October 27th this year via Invictus Productions, I got hyped over the fricking roof, but once I read that the album was mixed by Olof Wikstrand of Enforcer, that is where I truly lost my mind. Was it worth the wait? Let’s find out…

As the drums roll on the opening track 'Na Okraji Priepaste Otevíra Sa Hviezdny Zámek', we start off with beautiful folkish and psychedelic instrumental consisted of acoustic guitars, groovy bass and drums, which slowly but steadily sets the mood for the entire album. The second track 'Kočár Postupuje Temnomodrými Dálavami Na Juhozápad' is where the signature style of Malokarpatan begins to shine, filled with melodic heavy metal guitar work which has some incredibly catchy riffs and mesmerizing melodies, along with a nice addition of synthesizers, all while HV’s harsh vocals stalk like a strigoi in the dark. The song even ends on a very high note with a powerful folkish section that is followed by a heavy metal guitar solo. Malokarpatan is well known for containing traces of Master’s Hammer in their music, which you can hear on tracks 'Vertumnus Caesar' and 'Maharal A Golem', with the return of wonderful medieval folkish tunes. There are even some elements of 70’s psychidelic/progressive rock with some film soundtrack style to it, which reminded me a lot of the Italian band Goblin, known for composing the music for Italian horror movies such as Suspiria, Tenebrae and Phenomena. All of this is present on the instrumental fifth track 'Panstvo Salamandrov Jest V Kavernách Zeme', which contains a heavy and progressive instrumental work consisted of synthesizers, clean guitars, groovy walking bass line and groovy drums. This is a very amazing and interesting inclusion on the album, which to some might seem like a prolonged interlude but I beg to differ, this is by far unlike anything else I heard in any black metal album. The great thing about this album is that it doesn’t get weaker after the second half, especially towards the end with the final track 'I Hle, Tak Zachádza Imperiálna Hviezda' which still managed to do a great job with its length of 10 minutes and 11 seconds.

This album has tons of oldschool heavy metal moments which shine all throughout, the best examples being tracks 'Vovnútri Chlácholivého útočišta Kunstkamru' and 'Mnohoraké útrapy Milostpána Kelleyho', where the riffs and guitar solos contain strong New Wave of British Heavy Metal influences. These 80’s heavy metal influences were wonderfully combined with the first wave black metal elements of bands like Master’s Hammer and Root, which is indeed the signature sound of Malokarpatan that they wonderfully crafted. On top of that, even the stylish album cover art with alchemist apparatus reminds me of something that could have very easily been used for a Master’s Hammer album. Speaking of the overall presentation of this album, the band expands their mythology with an interesting concept revolving around the mysterious life of Emperor Rudolf II, infamous for his involvement in the esoteric arts. The sound production for this Vertumnus Caesar is fantastic, providing perfect balance between modern and 80’s heavy metal production. I think that Olof Wikstrand obviously understood the task of mixing this album and he certainly did not fail the assignment he took with great responsibility.

Malokarpatan has always been one of the most unique bands in modern day black metal and black metal in general, and it’s no surprise that Vertumnus Caesar turned out to be a brilliant delivery from one track to another. I think that the album is up there with Krupinské Ohne in terms of excellent musicality and superb songwriting, which in the end comes as no surprise to someone like me who was fully invested in their music ever since I heard them for the first time. This band obviously doesn’t want to limit themselves to traditional genre norms and they continue expanding their sound and themes with each new release they come out with, and I consider Vertumnus Caesar to be a great example of someone who is devoted to their work and has tremendous attention to detail.

Written for www.Metalbite.com