Malokarpatan – Stridzie Dni (2015)

Author: Jan Jakobsen

Artist: Malokarpatan

Album: Stridžie Dni

Label: Invictus ProductionS

The moment I heard the first riff on Kýho besa mi to tá stará ohyzdná striga do pohára nalála I knew this was an album I had to review. But first, who are Malokarpatan? Well, they are a Slovakian black metal band who just recently signed to the great Irish record label Invictus Productions. Their style of black metal is unique, managing to blend in 80’s Venom together with Master’s Hammer and there is even a Negative Plane vibe going on. The production is murky and cavernous and the vocals are soaked with reverb. The layering is extensive, but it does not get in the way of riffing which has this ability to shift from evil black metal to classic rock n’ roll that you very rarely hear. There are also some folky elements thrown in here and there in addition to the use of samples.

The album starts with a two-minute long intro that sounds like the soundtrack of a dark fantasy movie from the 70’s. The first real track is Kýho besa mi to tá stará ohyzdná striga do pohára nalála, which starts off with a Negative Plane esque riff that sets the mood. The character of the song changes drastically after about one minute and forty-five seconds when the band suddenly decides to play a Venom song instead. These sudden changes happen a lot over the course of the album, which makes the album sound interesting throughout the entire 44-minute playtime.

Na kríllach cemnoty do horských úbočí zostupuje posol moru a hniloby is a fairly typical murky black metal song until the two minute mark where there’s a really dark section with nothing but the bass and an acoustic guitar playing over a sample. What really stands out on this track is the audible bass which is pretty rare in black metal in general. O víne, kterak učený Hugolín Gavlovič z Horovec vyprával takes you back to the beginning of black metal with a Venom influenced riff being played throughout most of the track. The outro features a kick-ass guitar solo as well.

Starý z hory, čo zver svoju budzogánem pobil is the slowest song on the album and it starts with a folky intro with bird song sampled in the background before the guitar sets in. The atmosphere is dark and unsettling at times with the shouted vocals that at times sounds like the haunting cry of the damned.

O jedném, čo pijatikou rozum si pomúcil a nakonec v chléve prenocovat musel is just a straight up banger. The first thing you might notice is the use of clean vocals that reminds of newer Darkthrone. The riffing is ferocious and catchy at the same time with some amazing lead guitar work. Popolvár najväčší na svete, šarkanobijca a bohatier is the last and longest track on the record. An ominous intro is the first that greets you. The guitar work here is eerie and as I mentioned before, the comparison to Negative Plane is spot on at times. On the last minutes of the album, you’re waved farewell with an outro first featuring a sweet guitar solo before an epic sample sets in.

Malokarpatan have with Stridžie Dni created one of my favorite albums of 2015. It’s unique, the riffs are solid from start to finish and the replay value is massive.

Only in my first 24 hours of first discovering this album I listened to it five times, simply because it’s just straight up an amazing album.

9.5/10

• Jan Jakobsen

Check ’em out here: https://malokarpatan.bandcamp.com/release