On this new occasion, we enter the cold domains of a conspiracy of two hordes that belonged to the former Czechoslovakia and travel under the radical wing of Central European Black Metal. The split was crowned with the name ‘Wrath of Wolves’, which is more than a title—it’s a warning for the unsuspecting listener.
The opening was left in the clutches of Plague God, a band that was formerly a duo. I came to them following the trail of one of their members, and I must confess that I hadn’t heard anything from them since their compilation of demos in 2022. There is an drastic difference now, from the demo to the attack of the present split. This Plague God is more oriented toward Raw Black Metal, with good and brutal rhythms and time changes that don’t lose intensity, as evidenced in the first minutes of ‘Tisíce let lží’. The guttural vocals are now nonexistent. We know they went to the grave along with the mythical Dr Fe, that maniac who bequeathed us the first demos of the satanic Amon and the gods Root.
Returning to the track, it has a length of 8 minutes and a few seconds. The most outstanding elements are the riffs, characterised by their volatility—some memorable and others annihilating. I think the only thing against this sample of Plague God is the programmed drums; the rest works brutally and black hatred is spit out without contemplation.
Immediately after, we enter the domains of Immortal Hammer, a horde that in 2025 celebrates 25 years of struggle. If we remember that damned work of 2002 that placed them on the map of the underground, we see that the crudeness, speed, lacerating voices, clean singing, and Slovak folk tunes have been left a little behind. But be careful, not all of these elements were buried in the past. The attack they dilute in the conspiracy was crowned with the name ‘Stricažca lesov Karpát’, which means something like “the one who takes care of the forest.”
The track follows the same line as their full-length from the same year. One could even think that ‘Stricažca lesov Karpát’ is a loose song from that recording session. The sound and composition have a palpable depth, evoking multiple negative emotions and plagued with melodies that are swaying with pride throughout the track. The change the band underwent, with its orientation toward atmospheric Black Metal, is evident since Ulfar joined the battle. Everything in the track is perceptible, and between howls and cuts that give way to the ambience of the guitars, the march continues until the end. This is where the acoustic melodies of the guitars take the reins and, again, the wolf howls and murmurs of the wind close the split.
A good conspiracy of two bands that have gone through changes—some changes of inexorable destiny like those of Plague God, and others more ethereal like those I just described within the composition of Immortal Hammer.
