There is something about ‘VII’ that sounds unmistakably Polish. That blend of Black, Death, and certain flashes of Thrash carries a very recognizable identity, a school of sound that inevitably brings to mind early Behemoth, Vader, and, more broadly, that Eastern European Extreme Metal tradition where the boundaries between styles were never completely rigid.
Perhaps it has something to do with Poland’s cultural position between East and West, absorbing influences from both sides and reshaping them into something of its own. Hell-Born fits perfectly within that logic.
The album did not grab me immediately. In fact, the opening track left me rather cold. But from the second and third songs onward, the record starts to grow, especially when the band strengthens the black metal elements and plays more effectively with changes of pace.
That is where one of the main strengths of ‘VII’ appears: the groove.
There are very rhythmic sections, guitars that surprise in the way they move in and out of the more aggressive structures, and moments where the band manages to sound truly heavy without constantly relying on speed. That combination gives the album a fair amount of personality.
The production also works well. It has something of the 1990s about it, but not in an artificial or overly nostalgic way. The sound is not excessively polished, and that works in the album’s favor. It preserves a certain rawness, an organic and dark atmosphere that once again connects with that Polish identity mentioned before.
Where I do think there is a significant weakness is in the visual presentation.
The cover artwork strikes me as rather poor and not particularly attractive.
And today, that matters.
With the enormous number of releases appearing every week, a band also needs to build a visual identity capable of catching the attention of someone browsing through records, CDs, or vinyl. You can have a strong musical production, but if the visual presentation does not create curiosity, there is always a risk that the album will be overlooked far too quickly.
That would probably be my main recommendation to Hell-Born: pay much more attention to that side of the release.
Because musically, ‘VII’ does have plenty of interesting elements. It mixes several ingredients without turning into chaos: Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash, groove and a production with a character of its own.
Not everything works with the same level of strength, but when the band finds the right balance, the result is very solid.
A good release, strong production, and effective dynamics. Now the visual side needs to rise to the level of the music.
