The Polish death metal scene is so much more than Vader, Behemoth and Azarath, yet there are bands whom no one outside of my old country/my current country of residence heard of. But that should change, because the Warsaw, Masowian dark ensemble Czerń (Blackness) are worthy of international recognition despite their short life, having only the "Nie Ze Skały, A Ze Strachu" (Not Of Rock But Out Of Fear) EP (2014) on their belt, and having evolved out of hardcore into a more sludge/death construct for "Zgliszcza" (Cinders).

As the promo says, every song is different, and there are different hues to every one. Czerń are masters of varying the pace and moods. Drawing comparisons to Sepultura’s "Arise", every song begins with weird cosmic noise courtesy of composer Michał Głowacki, but that’s where "Arise" comparisons ends, yet not the Sepultura-ic since there is a very strong "Roots" presence (Widmo/Wraith), and "Chaos A.D." (Strach/Fear). But Łukasz Zając (vocals), Jan Fronczak (guitars) Bernard Sierakowski (bass) and Akadiusz Lerch (drums) really spread their wings on the favorite, Hypocrisy-ic/Novembers Doom-y title track, showing a keen sense of melody and harmony without abandoning the power, heaviness or the extreme edge to the sound. Of note, too, is "Radość?" (Joy) with more hardcore sludge a’la Face Down’s "The Twisted Rule The Wicked" or early Machine Head, but generally Czerń moves from slow and sludgy to fast and deathly and back to slow to death unto black (Strach, title track), with some melodic melodoom in between for definitely good measure. The only drawback seems to be the closing, apocalyptic Ulcerate-ian death/doom-ish "Krzyk" (Cry) which is definitely slower, simpler and less exciting, but not enough to detract from the excellence of "Zgliszcza".

Rough around the edges (thus the score) heavy, varied and multifaceted yet fiercely melodic and catchy Czerń’s "Zgliszcza" is proof positive that Poland will continue to shake the extreme metal scene for years beyond the aforementioned infamous Trinity Of Death. Świetna płyta, panowie!

https://czern.bandcamp.com/