1914 remains united in the face of adversity.
In the current troubled times we are all experiencing, k.u.k. Galizisches IR Nr.15, Gefreiter, Ditmar Kumarberg (vocals), K.K. LIR Stanislau Nr.20 Zugsfu?hrer, Oleksa Fisiuk (guitar), k.u.k. Galizisch-Bukowina’sches IR Nr.24, Feldwebel, Armen Howhannisjan (bass), K.K. LIR Czernowitz Nr.22 Oberleutnant, Witaly Wyhovsky (guitar) and K.K. LIR. Lemberg Nr.19 Fähnrich, Rostislaw Potoplacht (drums) reflect on World War I with their fourth album, Viribus Unitis.
The album begins like its predecessors with a sampled song called War In, but this time it is complemented by the ominous mention (The Beginning of the Fall), which allows us to slowly enter the band’s universe, which kicks off with the furious 1914 (The Siege of Przemy?l). All the aggressive Black/Death elements are there, but there is also a brief lull that reinforces the return of the heavy sound while highlighting the orchestrations between the vocalist’s screams, but the riffs stop abruptly to make way for 1915 (Easter Battle for the Zwinin Ridge) and its dated introduction. A burst of energy breaks us out of this agonizing pause, then the machine starts up again with a jerky rhythm that highlights the heaviness of their tuning, but also the dissonance that the band knows how to produce before offering us massive choruses to punctuate this very long track. A new sample introduces us to 1916 (The Südtirol Offensive), then the band brings out the heavy artillery again, consisting of double kicks and killer riffs, before slowing down while remaining oppressive and not hesitating to accelerate without warning and use a few vindictive choruses to maintain the rage. The explosive finale leads us to 1917 (The Isonzo Front) and its bloody battles, which the band embellishes with devastating and piercing rhythms, but also a few more catchy touches and, in contrast, some very disturbing harmonics that contrast with its outro’s melancholy, leading smoothly into the intro to 1918 Pt 1 – WIA (Wounded in Action). The track begins with military singing, then the riffs slowly set in and become impressive, even solemn with the voices in the background, but the vocalist also knows how to offer striking parts to accentuate his speech before giving way to a colder but initially more accessible sound on 1918 Pt 2- POW (Prisoner of War). The atmosphere sometimes becomes stifling, as if we were frozen in time and subjected to an interminable wait, then we meet Christopher Scott (Precious Death), who offers an ethereal touch before the new accelerations, then it is with 1918 Pt 3: ADE (A Duty to Escape), a much more majestic track, the musicians recount the end of the K.u.K. army’s adventure, accompanied by Aaron Stainthorpe (High Parasite, ex-My Dying Bride), who brings the purest melancholy to life. The last stage of their journey is called 1919 (The Home Where I Died), a track that starts out noisy and then moves to piano, with Jerome Reuter (Rome) lending his voice for the final moments of the album, making this last track even more intense without a hint of saturation, followed by the traditional War Out (The End-) which lets us leave this piece of history with a new song of the era.
As usual, 1914 needs only facts and riffs to give its songs a striking power that surpasses many bands! Viribus Unitis is a new testimony to the past offered by this band, which is obviously in a complex situation but remains true to its values.
95/100
