Smyrtonos – Misanthropic Flame Of Black Devotion

Back in 2022 I reviewed Smyrtonos’ last recordings, as Todorac had carried this project to its grave. Yet, that seemingly was for a short period only as last year the project was resurrected and ‘Endless Fury’ was no longer the last-ever recording. On the contrary even, as in 2023 the band returned with an impressive amount of new material. The result is that ‘Misanthropic Flame Of Black Devotion’, although being the first full-length album, is the band’s twelfth release.

Todorac has always a penchant for utterly raw and primitive Black Metal that fitted mostly in the Raw/Lo-Fi corners of the genre. Yet, with ‘Misanthropic Flame Of Black Devotion’ he largely moved away from that approach. That doesn’t mean that this album has a clean or Abyss Studio-like production, but the minimalistic way of composing and recording music has certainly been enhanced to new levels of self-confidence and musical maturity.

While that might sound a bit presumptuous when it comes to the rawer kinds of Black Metal, Todorac certainly has advanced his song writing skills and that makes ‘Misanthropic Flame Of Black Devotion’ an album that offers a more challenging listen and overall musical depth. Yet, that increased musicality did not at all come to the expanse of the purity and intensity with which Todorac ever can be linked – regardless of which of his projects you listen to. The extreme Lo-Fi aesthetics might have been dropped for the most part, in return you’ll get an album that is more riff-based with rudimentary, yet effective drums and icy, razor sharp vocals. This way the music definitely leans more on both the traditional Norwegian (early Gorgoroth) and German (Odal, Moonblood) Black Metal scenes from the mid to late 90’s.

The raw guitar tone and the overall slightly clearer production has opened the music up quite a bit and leaves opportunity to let the musical talent shine through much more than ever before. Consequently Smyrtonos might also sound more traditional now, maybe leaving some people disappointed, but overall I think Todorac is showing his all-round Black Metal skills, making Smyrtonos his most sophisticated and mature project so far. (FelixS)

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From Bulgaria, centered around instrumentalist Todorac (Haavrun, Löwenblut, ex-Opiumortem + a truckload of former bands) and active since 2022, this is Smyrtonos with their first full-length full of raw and intense black metal carnage.

As said earlier: the artist, Todorac, the driving force behind Smyrtonos, has been active since 2001, previously releasing demos and splits. I have to admit that ‘Misanthropic Flame of Black Devotion’ marks a significant milestone in his discography.

For a decent 31 minutes ‘Misanthropic Flame of Black Devotion’ stomps the sh*t out of your bowels. The music is rawer than a wagyu ribeye. Cascades of hammering drums, icy feral vocals and a tapestry of juicy thick layers of guitars. The production is loud and offensive: the music hits you like a battering ram. An album that is well on its way to become a cult classic – mark my words!

The album ticks all the boxes for the genre. It feels like a hacksaw is going through your head. The DIY mentality is there, and the bravado is omnipresent to make it far into the darker realms of this genre. There’s a lo-fi edge to the music and I believe I heard some old Mayhem – ‘Deathcrush’ influences as well. Similar artists? Goatmoon? Bilskinir, Moonblood? It doesn’t matter – the music on ‘ Misanthropic Flame…’ is solid enough to stands on its own. It’s total necro, people! Do check it out!

Fans of this genre probably have this album for more than a year, all others are urged to check it out. (LV)