Denevér – A Vérivók Krónikái

‘Vampír’ was a striking debut by the Hungarian band Denevér. On that album Tibor Terebesi paid homage to his Hungarian heritage, both in telling the story of the blood countess Báthory Erzsébet, as well as honoring the legendary band Tormentor. That the lust for bloodsoaked storytelling is far from quenched is clear, as the follow-up album is already upon us.

‘A Vérivók Krónikái’ translates to ‘Chronicles of the Blood Drinkers’, and serves as a vessel to further delve in Denevér’s vampiric curiosities. Not only that, Tibor Terebesi’s fascination with classical music also returns, this time starting off the album with a twisted version of Mozart’s ‘Requiem K. 626 Lacrimosa’. And the classical influences remain a constant on the album, but this time the classical Black Metal roots. Like on the debut, the sound of Denevér is heavily influenced by not only Tormentor, but also old Norwegian Black Metal bands that undoubtedly were also inspired by Tormentor such as early days Mayhem, Darkthrone and Gorgoroth. Most of the latest Denevér material maintains a steady pace, often driven by the programmed drums. These sound a little bit more organic than on the debut, and as whole ‘A Vérivók Krónikái’ has a bit of a fiercer fuller production that doesn’t go at the cost of the rawness of the guitar and raspy vocals.

In a lot of other ways, ‘A Vérivók Krónikái’ is also like ‘Vampír’, for instance with Aornos bandmate Csaba Tátrai returning for some ripping and disorienting guest solos. But upon a little deeper inspection the latest album appears more remorseless and choking, leaving less room to breathe in between the raging tracks. The influence of Tormentor seems a little bit more apparent as well, and as a whole it feels as if Denevér stepped it up in terms of riff writing. The play with drums rhythm and shifting riffs make ‘A Kárhozottak Királynője’ (‘Queen of the Damned’) a standout track, while ‘Alakváltó’ (‘Shapeshifter’) contains some particularly excellent riffs and highlight exactly that next step in songwriting. At the same time, eerie keys, solos and drum tempo changes in ‘Istenek Húsa és Vére’ (‘Flesh and Blood of the Gods’) lift the song and album further above the material of the predecessor.

Denevér impressed me with their debut album and continues to impress with ‘A Vérivók Krónikái’. It’s a more pacey and menacing record, but most of all it feels like the lessons learned from ‘Vampír’ have improved the music in terms of production, compositions, use of drums and above all, the riffs. Black Metal bands that so strongly and expertly honour Tormentor don’t come along often!