Genre - Black Metal
1. Zuhanás
2. Holnap Majd Felgyújtom Az Erdït
3. Várnak A Varjak
4. Ökörtej (Latte Bue)
5. Halványan Az Idï Ellen (Rehearsal)
6. A Sajnálat Utolsó Lehelete (Taxidermia) (Rehearsal)
7. Bakarasznyi Mumus
I first encountered Transylvanian Black Metal act
SICULICIDIUM a couple of years ago now when I stumbled upon their (currently
only) full-length release ‘Utolsó vágta az Univerzumban‘ in a local record shop
and bought it on a whim and subsequently loved it. They exhibited a striking
blend of influences from TORMENTOR to INQUISITION and DARKTHRONE among others. ‘A
rothadó virágok színüket vesztik’ is their first new release since that album
and retains the same basic style and principles of the last album, except this time
it appears to have been stripped right to the bone and sandblasted with a huge
amount of wretched dirt.
The underworldly melodies have been for the most part
been replaced by a brash and obnoxious punk like influence which for the most
part seems to transfer across rather well. It’s a short enough affair, there’s
only three proper songs which are new, then you’ve got two interludes and then
two tracks which are rehearsals presumably left over from the recording of
their debut album. “Zuhanas” kicks things off with a horror driven dirge and
you can immediately hear the TORMENTOR influences in the band’s sound here,
most notably in Béla Lugosi’s
grim, rasped vocals. Supported with subtle synth work and Krul’s slightly
muffled albeit impressive drumming it is the only track that really carries forward
that grisly, evil sound from before.
“Holnap majd felgyújtom az erdőt” is where the crusty
Black ‘n Roll influences really seep through, HELLHAMMER-esque in all their raw
garage like glory. Ultimately though this song doesn’t really do much for me, its
repetition doesn’t really work and the song in general just comes across as a
tad silly. Then came “Várnak a varjak”, and even though it wasn’t even two
minutes long I thought it was pretty fucking awesome, except it sounded a touch
familiar. Struggling to put my finger on it and racking my brain for ages it
then dawned on me, that same rhythm and arrangement was used on “Halványan az
idő Ellen” which is a track off the last release and also makes a cameo here as
well in rough rehearsal form. Here it is moulded into an atmospheric and
melancholic interlude that provokes an eerie sense of unease and trepidation and
a direction I wouldn’t mind the band exploring further. It works very well.
“Ökörtej” reverts back to the raucous and raw Black
Metal, brisk in pace with its primitive tremolo riffing and those obnoxious
vocal patterns and ugly attitude, it almost sounds to these ears like a twisted
marriage between DARKTHRONE and ABUSRD. The vocals could definitely do with
being filled out a bit though, it sounds as if Bela Lugosi has been recorded
while singing halfway down a hallway. The next two tracks are rehearsals off
the last album and there’s not much to say about them really other than “Halvanyan...”
having the same melody as “Varnak...” except transcribed in metal form this
time around and “A sajnálat utolsó lehelete” being an extremely unevolved
version of that previously seen on the last album.
For what it is, ‘A rothadó virágok színüket vesztik’
is again another decent release by this Romanian horde. It’s a lot different in
contrast to the last album though, bearing an altogether more repulsive and
odious facade than previously seen in its punkish delivery. At the end of the
day though there are only four completely new tracks here, the rest appears to
be no more than a collection of odds and sods that have been tacked on for good
measure so I would advise newcomers to start with the debut first, and then opinions
deciding, they could move on to this without too much hesitation.
7/10
Sounds like - Inquisition, Absurd, Barathrum
Originally written for The Metal Observer
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