How the international Black Metal duo came together is unknown, but in today’s day and age it allowed the union of the San Diego, USA based Velsingard and the Budapest, Hungary based Bál in a project called Vargrike. Velsingard recorded the instruments for their debut album somewhere between 2020 and 2021, after which Bál provided the vocals and most lyrics. The finished product was released into the world in 2021 under the banner of ‘Útkereső’, which in Hungarian means Pathfinder.
On the four tracks of the band’s self-produced debut, we find them walking an often midpaced atmospheric Black Metal path. Each song clocks in between the eight and nine minute mark, and provides the listener with long-spun guitar melodies and themes that remain fairly consistent throughout. As each of the tracks progress, subtle changes in drum rhythm and pace, as well as added layers of keyboards, slightly change the soundscape while keeping hold of the familiar guitar melodies. This has a rather soothing and captivating effect, which is nicely contrasted by Bál’s piercing shrieks. Addition of bagpipes and accordion courtesy of Andrei Oltean add folky elements to the music, such as in ‘Őrző Kezek Fölöttem’ (which means something like ‘Guardian Hands above Me’). This leads to a somewhat melancholic, but mostly dreamlike atmosphere around the music. In this particular track the guitar riffs shift a little bit more, making it one of the highlight tracks of the album. Overall, ‘Útkereső’ is quite a charming debut EP, that threads the atmospheric Black Metal line with long-spun songs that focus on maintaining musical themes while slowly changing drum rhythms and subtly adding new elements as the songs progress. Well done!
