25/12/2019
Jak diabeł z pudełka.
Review in Polish. Thank you so much for your kind words.
Translated version:
The end of the year is a period of summaries of the past twelve months, which is not surprising (unless somebody takes it up in November), so I was already getting ready to make a list of my favourite albums this year - yeah - it was practically ready when the old folk saying was confirmed once again: if a man hurries, the devil is happy (so remember - it's better to run than to walk). In this case he was certainly happy, because he jumped out of the box and gave me the debut of the Swiss from Chimæra. He did it at the last minute, but the goal in the ninetyth minute is as important as the one in the twentieth. And so the gentlemen from Bern and their "Of Occult Signs and War" jumped on the list already mentioned and became the debutantes of the year.
I'm a little surprised by the silence around this release, anyway, in our backyard. Fact, the album was released on the thirtieth of November in the number of two hundred copies, published by Thanatoskult Records, which is more widely unknown, but in the age of the Internet, you know - I do not have to explain. For me, after the first listening, it was certain that it was an interesting and good album, but I had to wait for a while in a bundle of overdue releases and I took it seriously only a week ago. And after each meeting I was more and more sure that it was one of the better things that came out in 2019. Chimæra has been in existence for four years, so it took some water in Aare before they decided to make their debut, but it doesn't matter, because they did it with a stop, going into the underground with the door. "Of Occult Signs and War" is almost thirty-five minutes of captivating black metal, in which a lot of rock'n'roll and titles like "To Hell" only strengthen the associations with the precursors of the genre - early Bathory or Venom. There is a lot of primeval wildness, hellish dance and natural power in Swiss music, although of course all this has been served in the sauce of today. Chimæra doesn't force itself to artistic rapture full of spiritual experiences, but on the other hand it is certainly not an album filled only with blasphemous chase. We will find here sublime moments, moments of reverie, but primo - they are incredibly natural, secundo - are the complement of sincere wildness and aggressive black metal, referring to the best patterns. The latter, however, are more set in the eighties than in the classics of the second wave and thanks to this, the album is surprisingly fresh. How is this possible? And so that the guys have great arrangement ideas and are able to put old patents into new frames in an interesting way. For example, all those guitar crazies, solos, flips and flips! After all, it's not something everyday in black metal, but here it sounds like this genre is built on them. However, it's mostly a thrilling album (sometimes pure rock'n'roll!), incredibly energetic and natural. And here I see a reference to the decade when everything was born. This approach always captivates me because I appreciate passion and honesty, devotion and love for what you create. And yet, when it's done as successfully as in "Of Occult Signs and War", it's nothing but applaud, listen and expect more releases.
I often fight in my thoughts with myself and wonder if this whole damn Internet is doing more good for my beloved music or bad and it would be better if it wasn't. You know, the deliberations are completely barren, because it is and will not disappear. But Chimæra's debut is an argument in favour, because without him I wouldn't have met him. And at such moments, I am grateful that he exists. You can listen to the album on Bandcamp, YouTube, and, of course, through this first one, purchase the physical edition. I'm going to do that.
Chimæra - "Of Occult Signs and War". Thanatoskult Records, November 2019.
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