Despised Cruelty is at it again.
After five years’ silence, the Polish band made up of Maciej Mietkiewicz (vocals), Michal Bentyn (guitar), Aleks Kowalski (guitar), Eryk Gwizdala (bass) and Konrad Binczyk (drums/vocals) sign up with Talheim Records for the release of Niech zdycha, their second album.
The album opens with a mysterious sample on Zgliszcza, the first composition that gradually envelops us in its hypnotic, haunting tones before abruptly changing to become aggressive. The raw vocal parts fit in perfectly with the ambient violence that ebbs and flows, flaring up at times or becoming slightly calmer, but I niech sie niesie… follows with a heavier, weightier and somewhat melancholic sound. The intoxicating apathy is morphed into visceral rage from deep within the musicians, reaching its peak before reverting to that gentle heaviness, leading us to Chleb powszedni, where dissonance is already haunting the riffs, creating a sense of mystical disquieting unease. The snarl doesn’t let up, breaking cleanly before Twoje miejsce takes its place, revealing its own tenebrous chaos as the vocalist howls, leading the advance of this dark and sometimes melodic mist to Niech zdycha where the rhythm quickly explodes. Blasts, incisive riffs and hellish vociferations answer each other, leaving a moment’s hesitation to allow us to catch our breath before the surge starts again, letting us drift to Pêtla, a long composition where coldness and clear vocals welcome us, before being replaced by howls and a raw, panting rhythm that – despite a moment’s calm – carry us to the vaporous, tortured final.
Despised Cruelty‘s darkness is woven with a certain melancholy and dissonance, making Niech zdycha quite strange on first listen, but we soon find ourselves overwhelmed by the band’s scathing riffs.
90/100
