…yes.
Amplified is a weekly column focusing on new and emerging artists. Got a band that fits the bill? Email amplified@metalinsider.net.
I was a little worried about what I’d think of Ukraine’s Sectorial when they sent me an email for their record We Are The Titan’s Rising Ashes, mostly because of the fact that it sounded like it leaned very heavily on folk instruments. Folk metal is certainly plenty popular, but “too Pagan” is something I find it hard to personally get overly excited about, as a lot of the stuff that sounds like it should soundtrack a Renaissance Faire just isn’t my thing. Different strokes, of course, so I checked it out.
What you actually get here is far more on the blackened death side of things, to the point that there’s moments that could be easily mistaken for some of the most chaotic of Behemoth’s later-period offerings. The folks instruments are very weird in this context, as all manner of whistles and overtones zip in and out. They really exist to add texture, rather than be the melodic crux of the song, which is welcome in my book. The first point where a GIGANTIC blackened death riff is underscored by something that sounds like a cross between a vocoder and a big rubber band was a very conflicting feeling, but if there’s one thing that’s true about my own taste, this stone-cold weirdness meant I was on board regardless.
Stream the whole album below. Feel it, love it.
