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By ALASKAN BERGWANDERER
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“The Basque witch trials of the seventeenth century represent the last attempt at rooting out supposed witchcraft from Navarre by the Spanish Inquisition, after a series of episodes erupted during the sixteenth century following the end of military operations in the conquest of Iberian Navarre, until 1524.
The trial of the Basque witches began in January 1609 at Logroño, near Navarre, bordering Basque territory. It was influenced by similar persecutions conducted by Pierre de Lancre in the bordering Labourd, French Basque Country. Although the number of people executed was small in comparison to other similar persecutions in Europe, it is considered the biggest single event of its kind in terms of the number of people investigated: by the end of the phenomena, some 7,000 cases had been examined by the Inquisition.”
With this Wiki summary, we are now introduced to the next entry of which the anonymous German entity known simply as TREST set their focus on, in their explorations of Witch Trials from around the globe. While Ordalium had the common theme of individuals who were the last to be legally executed in counties such as Britain, Denmark, Poland, etc., based on accusations of witchcraft, the six individuals named here on Sorginak are all victims of the aforementioned Basque Witch Trials.
Musically speaking, Ordalium (and even the follow up EP Chambre Ardente) already had a very strong Slavic feel to the music, and in the most downtrodden and menacing way. Very little true melody to be found, rather just ugliness and despair. Given the subject matter at hand that is no doubt very appropriate. And with the use of the primarily deeper vocals, the Hate Forest/Roman Saenko influence is no doubt there. However, with Sorginak, there is more sense of melody to be found amongst the pummeling that one will experience; most notably on tracks like ‘Borda’ and ‘Subildegui’, although there are streaks throughout all six offerings. This use of melody – however you want to interpret that word in context of this album – puts this album into a similar realm of black metal as any of the Ukraine greats; Purity or most recently Innermost by Hate Forest, the self titled Ygg album, and perhaps Arctogaia-era Ulvegr could be bedfellows with Sorginak. Trest pulls off that relentless, crushing, driving style QUITE well. I’d also say that there is an underlying, yet still strong, 2nd Wave Scandinavian vibe that emerges throughout each track as well (especially that “black-n-roll” section of ‘Borda’… damn!). It’s a potent mixture for sure, and honestly I’m surprised more bands aren’t using a template like this.
As alluded to earlier, this album is rather relentless and crushing in the finest Ukraine/Slavic style, and it is due primarily to how the guitars and drums are used. The riff department consists of repetitive riffs used to establish mood and atmosphere, coupled with the use of multiple layers that just builds a dense wall of sound. A perfect canvas for the atonal melodies to emerge from and grab your full attention. The drums, obviously played by someone VERY competent, choose to go full on meat and potatoes in their approach: Play fast when you need to play fast. Double bass when you need double bass. Slow doomy beats when you need slow doomy beats. Very little by way of technical or complex fills. And I think it rules… speaking as a drummer I feel far too much emphasis is placed on technicality and speed by other modern day so-called “extreme metal drummers”, often overshadowing everything else happening around it. Simply not the case here; the drums have the distinct job of holding down the fort and letting everyone else handle the busy work. It’s perfect. And, as far as I know, this could very well be programmed drums… but there’s far too much of a human *feel* that you can audibly hear for me to actually believe that someone programmed this. The drum sound feels like it was recorded with a handful of mics in a big empty room. The bass also gets a starring role, with plenty of noodly fills and riffs emerging from the musical chaos with great effect. Vocally speaking, this is where the biggest Roman Saenko influence shines. While not quite as guttural, the deeper register will no doubt remind many of the Hate Forest influence.
The overall production perfectly sits on that fine line between “raw” and “clean”. While it is certainly not pristine, there’s enough crust on the sound to keep the tröö kvlt types satiated enough. It’s perfect for this style of black metal, quite honestly.
Trest continues to fly under the radar, but I feel that this album should see some more eyes and ears directed their way and perhaps bigger things are in store in their future. Sorginak is a most excellent album, and personally speaking will assuredly have a place in my year end list. I’ve listened to this quite a few times in the last few days and I discover more and more with each passing listen.
Essential stuff.
Sorginak is available now via Black Gangrene Productions.
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Purchase Sorginak on CD, LP and digital from Bandcamp HERE or the Black Gangrene webstore HERE.
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