“Pod Niebem Utkanym Z Popiolu”, is the second full-length release of the young polish group Jarun. They started as a one man project of Zagreus in 2008, until it merged into a band. The record is black metal in its essence, but what makes it stand out are the folk and progressive influences. Poland in past few years has been home of many interesting black metal groups, and Jarun may be one of its newest exports.
The intro, “Przedswit”, sets the pace for the rest of the album, and gives us an idea of what to expect, melodic interludes, with a strong folk influence, catchy and spacey riffs. The entire record has growling vocals, there aren’t any clean ones, even in the “calmer” parts, which provides an interesting combination of sounds.
The songs “Pod Niebem Utkanym Z Popiolu” and “Noc niedokonczona” were the ones that stood out the most, and give us a good idea of the kind of spirit the album exhales. The final piece, a 10 minute long progressive/black/folk epic story about the wind, or at least was what google translator told me, is the perfect way to end this solid and interesting record.
Although the band shows a great deal of potential and a taste to deviate themselves from the more traditional black metal, which for me is a good advantage, they still have a long way to go before establish themselves as a great name in the polish, and European, black metal scene. A very solid effort that deserves its recognition, from a band to pay attention to in years to come.
7/10
