GAROTA – Czarne Wizje

This fierce and vicious assault on the senses by the Polish artillery known as Garota was a nice surprise to these ears in that I have never come across their name earlier on nor did I know what to expect when I pressed play.

Highly aggressive to the point of being overwhelming but with a sufficient amount of variety to it, this pitch-black affair packs a solid punch and conjures up a nihilistic and unnerving atmosphere that is rather captivating. While there is a massive dose of thrash metal influences coursing through its 34 minutes, the album is first and foremost rooted in black metal, but for some strange reason I am finding it hard to compare Garota’s take on the genre to other acts and outfits, which is undoubtedly a good thing as it says something about the trio’s sound and identity. The songs are quite memorable and easy to appreciate following the first couple of spins, but there are hidden depths to them too and plenty for you to discover and explore here. The closing track, ‘Oczy Golgoty‘, is a prime example of something that gradually reveals more and more layers the more times you listen to it.

A lean, passionate, and muscular piece of musical darkness whose high points include the driven ‘W Oczach Diabla‘ and the eerie yet insanely intense ‘Czarne Wizje Pelne Krwi‘, this is definitely a release that you ought to make a note of, and you can stream it via Bandcamp and Youtube.