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Band: BÁL
Album title: Tánc
Release date: 14 July 2021
Label: Self-Released
Genre: Black Metal, Experimental, Ambient, Post-Metal
Tracklist:
01. Az almafám
02. Hamis emlék
03. Nyitott ablak
04. Zárt ajtó
05. Fészkedben álmodva (feat. Marla van Horn)
06. Óh, édes Halál
07. Zwei Welten
08. Guardian
09. Pulse
10. Shock
Hungarian musician, composer, multiinstrumentalist and vocalist BÁL must be one of the most productive black metal musicians out there because since its formation four years ago, he has released an enviable amount of music. Tánc is BÁL's fourth full-length, but there were many split albums, demos, EPs, collaborations and various singles. One thing is sure about BÁL, he likes to do experiments, thus none of his albums sounds the same, sometimes almost as if coming from a different world. So, don't expect a typical black metal but rather prepare for something extravagant that feels out of this time and space.
Tánc consists of ten tracks, of which most of them have a playtime between seven and ten minutes. There's a lot of variations but what connects everything is intensity and explicit technical arrangements. The album feels cold, and music can be described as cosmic progressive black metal with an avant-garde and post-black touch, so those who like bands in the style of Deathspell Omega, Ved Buens Ende, Sigh, Darkspace, Harakiri For The Sky and Blut Aus Nord might find something for themselves. The aggression is well controlled and often interrupted by ambient parts. The sound is dense, almost apocalyptic, speeding, enriched by explosive technical drumming at the edge of death metal, some well-done guitar leads and acoustic insertions. Often shifting between dissonant and melodic parts, the music here is peculiarly progressive, modern and quite dynamic thanks to many variations.
This album is not easy listening to at all, and you must get used to it, especially because of strange psychedelic compositional structures and weird hellish shrieks that sometimes sound like a howling of an angry wounded monster who wants to hang itself. In my opinion, the unintelligible vocals are the lowest point here, and I think that a different vocal approach, which BÁL already used in the past, would fit better. On the other hand, in tracks like is the more traditional second wave black metal sounding "Guardian" or the contemplative "Shock", it works perfectly. No matter what, I get it as an artistic expression by BÁL. Yet sometimes we can hear spoken words, clean male-like in "Hamis emlék" or the thunderous "Óh, édes Halál", and esoteric female voice by Marla van Horn on the short atmospheric track "Fészkedben álmodva".
The sound is often multidimensional. There are many cinematic elements, like as an example in the opener "Az almafám" or in my favourite tracks "Zwei Welten" and "Shock". That's why you need to take BÁL's music together with the visual part that often comes in the artistic video form created by Austrian artist Smara Kand. So, special attention goes to the last two tracks, "Shock" and "Pulse", which got used for Smara's art films. Thereof BÁL's music is not just a plain musical creation, it's more, and it's interesting to hear how BÁL builds up an immersive atmospheric sound almost without any synths, or at least you can rarely hear those.
From rampant extremity to ambient esotericism and everything in between, BÁL drives the listener into this strange world of sonic darkness, chaotic manifestations of his mind and soul, and shapeshifting between order and chaos. This is black metal with a difference. I know that the style got many variations lately, but yet BÁL on this album, and not only here, creates music that is not something that you might have heard before. Thunder, coldness, darkness, chaos and control are all spawned up, and most likely, if this artist will continue walking this path, we'll hear still a lot of music extravaganza from him. If you decide to give it a try, then be ready for some serious black madness but also prepare for sonic catharsis with which you'll be rewarded in the end.
The review was written by Tomaz
Rating: 7,5/10
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