Arawn – Odkazy Doby

Band: Arawn
Title: Odkazy Doby
Label: Slovak Metal Army
Release Date: 24 December 2020
Country: Czechia
Format reviewed: High-quality digital recording

Every now and then I find myself impossibly tangled in the dark thorny thicket that is black metal, so today I have decided to tear my flesh from the noxious barbs and escape into the verdant grove that is Melodic Death.

Today I’ll be exploring the album “Odkazy Doby” which, I think roughly translates to “Links of time”, and is the second album from Czech quartet Arawn. The band name refers to a Celtic god from Welsh mythology who is the lord of the otherworld, Annwn. The band are a fairly fresh outfit that formed in 2017, however don’t let the age of the band fool you, these guys are masters at their craft!

I have to say that I am enamoured with this album. Arawn have a dark, ominous yet somewhat groovy style of thrashy melodeath with epic riffs, catchy melodies, thunderous drums, and gritty vocals. The clear production helps all elements pop and although the lyrics are entirely in Czech, I still found myself wanting to sing along. This punchy forty-one minute album is not difficult to enjoy, as each of the nine tracks seems to drag the listener further into it’s vice-like grip.

The album opener, “Z/N/P”, is a hard, fast, catchy thrash number with an abrasive old-school feel that really made a great first impression. Other standouts on the album were track three “Jachymov”, with crisp tremolos and chunky riffs, and track six “Hlasy z Tartaru” which has killer melodies paired with pounding relentless aggression. The last three tracks on the album really had me moving. Of course, it is possible that I was swept up in the seductive atmosphere of the melodic guitars or maybe I was overly excited that by track seven “Ragnarok”, I had a chorus that I could sing along to. Whatever the reason the ending of the album made an impact on me.

“Odkazy Doby” is a refreshing thrash-tinged melodeath album and a feather in the cap of this emerging band. If this album passed you by at the closing of 2020 then I urge you to Czech it out! 7/10 Proua Metallist

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7/10 Victory is possible
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