Artist: Всполох (Vspolokh, Vspolox, Vspoloh, etc.) [Russia]
Album Title: Печаль о прошлом ("Sorrow of the Past")
Record Label: Purity Through Fire (Germany)
Released: 2010 (December)
Purchased From: Ebay (Apothelyptic Reign)
In 2007, the German record label Hammermark Art (which, at that time, was the label of the highly-acclaimed Kroda) released an EP by a young Russian band called Всполох, which they romanized as "Vspolox." This EP, Сумерки, or The Dusk, was actually a demo from 2005, and as such felt kind of half-baked and immature. The production was pretty obscure and the drums were programmed, while there was nothing extremely compelling about the songwriting or vocals. It was not altogether bad considering it was a demo, but it seemed an odd choice for Hammermark to put forth the expense and effort to release it on CD. I bought the EP sometime in 2008 or 2009, shortly after purchasing the EP My Lands by Smaga, a band which shares a member with this one, and my impression after hearing the two EP's was that Smaga was definitely the more promising band.
However, Всполох stuck with it and, after adding a bassist and drummer and losing one of the two original guitarist/vocalists (though he appears as a guest vocalist on this album), the band released their first full-length in 2010. I was on the fence about buying it when I saw it for sale, but then I checked out a sample on Youtube and decided it was worth giving a try. One thing that caught my attention was the artwork, which this time around was done by the talented Kogaion Art (one might remember them from the artwork for Wodensthrone's Loss and Askival's Eternity, among others). Later, upon hearing the album and reading the lyrics, I realized that the dark, somber artwork is very appropriate considering the subject matter. Another thing that caught my attention was that, in the sample, I heard a large improvement over the debut EP/demo. I actually ordered this at the same time as Kroda's Schwarzpfad, kind of as a supplement to that order, but upon having the time to absorb this CD properly I was immediately impressed. If you heard the band on The Dusk and didn't like them, I encourage you to give them another try. This is so different that it might as well be an entirely new band.
One thing to get out of the way is that the band's name has been transliterated a few different ways. I already mentioned that they were called Vspolox on the 2007 EP, but on this release their name is romanized as Vspolokh. Vspoloh may also be appropriate. Their website and Myspace uses "Vspolox," so I'm at a loss as to which version to use. I'm going to go with the spelling that's used on the spine of the CD, so, going forward in this review, I'm going to call them Vspolokh. Okay, so now that's settled. One thing that's easier to settle is the name of the CD, which is translated as Sorrow of the Past. This title is very appropriate, because the lyrics (which are in Russian, but are helpfully translated into English in the insert) are primarily concerned with lamenting the loss of the old, heathen ways of Russia, which have been largely replaced by the alien faith of Christianity. This is certainly not a subject that is new or original in pagan metal (the subject is probably dealt with in roughly 95% of all pagan metal albums), but the lyrics are poetic and are pretty well-translated into English, and I get a sense of earnestness from the band as I read along and listen to the anguished and proud shrieks of guitarist/vocalist/flute-player "Vel" (aka "Velemudr" on the first release). I find some of the lyrics very moving and wistful, like: "Where are the flames and sparkles of Kupala piles in the night? Nowhere. There are only ominous shades of crosses on Earth." According to the liner notes, the lyrics are inspired by a story called "Death of Volkhv" by G. Osetrov.
Vspolokh is a band with a strong backbone of black metal, with some folk as well, though they tend to keep that separate from the black metal. The lead-off song, "Grief," begins with a sorrowful-sounding a capella folk song which floats in the distance, accompanied by sounds of nature (and soon a thunderstorm). This piece of music, as well as the way it is replaced by a doomy guitar tone, reminds me of the Hate Forest album Battlefields, though here you've got a real drummer and can actually hear the bass. The doomy section is replaced by a brief moment of acoustic guitar (accompanied by more nature sounds), and then the song speeds up and the proud, powerful harsh vocals emerge. The guitars here have a similar thick, fuzzy sound and style that Drudkh has, and I would guess from that and some of the songwriting that the well-known Ukrainian band has had some influence on Vspolokh, though that certainly is not a bad thing. At times they also remind me of Khors, except without the keyboards.
The second track begins with a clip taken from the 1930's Russian film Alexander Nevsky, also not really an original thing to do, but in this instance they don't use any speech, only a brief (and creepy-sounding, due to the poor condition of the film's soundtrack) musical fragment that leads into another fairly Drudkh-like riff. I like the simple but competent drumming and the audible bass, and I like the vocals, which don't have a lot of variety in style but do display emotion. I would imagine they are even more effective if the listener understands the Russian language. Towards the end of the second track, the acoustic guitar returns and is accompanied by a nicely-played flute. This folk section is very brief, however, and the metal comes roaring back with a very nice guitar solo (the first of the album).
The third track continues in like manner to the first two tracks, but then the album features a nice five-minute acoustic interlude: the instrumental entitled "Long Forest Paths of Rus'." It's a pretty simple song, just guitar and flute, but it gives the ears and spirit a little time to rest before the band tears through the final two lengthy songs, "Extrinsic Obscurantism" and "The Call." These last two songs are similar to the first three in that they contain a variety of moods and tempo, a few little acoustic sections, and long stretches without vocals. Admittedly, the songs tend to sound pretty similar to one another, and they all have similar characteristics, but everything is very well-done and it is a nice album to listen to. Despite the aggression, it has a rather melancholic, ancient quality, like one would hear listening to Drudkh's Blood In Our Wells or Estrangement. Not that Vspolokh is a sound-alike of that band, as they feature more acoustic parts and less repetition than Drudkh does, but that is the closest comparison I can find. If I knew more about the actual playing of music, I could dissect the guitar playing and rhythms and things like that, but unfortunately there is not much I can contribute to that discussion.
Sorrow of the Past is a very good pagan black metal album. It is lacking in originality, but it makes up for this (in my opinion, at least) with its sincerity and solid writing and performance. This is the kind of album that fans of Khors, Drudkh, Wodensthrone, and the like will want to check out if they're looking for a new album in the style of those established bands, with great, beefy production and a rather satisfying and ear-pleasing group of songs. I'm sure that Vspolokh will, in future releases, better establish their own identity, but the foundation is here. All the basic elements are in place already. It will remain to be seen if they will reach for true greatness, but, whether or not it ever comes to fruition, Sorrow of the Past is already a valued part of my collection, and I recommend it to fans of atmospheric, melancholic, pagan-themed black metal. If you can listen to the album while ignoring the shadow of similar bands that have come before them, you may find that these guys are heads-and-shoulders above many bands in this style. In my opinion, Vspolokh can proudly stand beside the bands that influenced them.
Also, this is certainly better than Drudkh's Handful of Stars or their Old Silver Key album.
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