Diaboł Boruta – Żywioły
Self-Released
Release date: 17/01/22
Running Time: 49:00
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
5/10
I have no idea why I selected this album to review. I don’t particularly like Folk Metal. It’s a genre which is too twee for my liking, giving opportunity for seriously fast passages to be played on instruments that should either be in museums or in some farmer’s hut in the Scandinavian countryside. It does however, appeal to me when I’ve had a few beers for then you are much more likely to jump around in typical drinking song style.
Diabol Boruta are Polish and have been playing for well over a decade. This album is a curious combination of genres, with Folk mixed with Thrash, Death and even Black Metal in some horrific cauldron which has thrown up a concoction which probably spawned two heads and many more digits than necessary. It’s a nightmare combination which is confusing and at times utterly bewildering.
The music careers all over the place, a runaway tram with no brake option. Dive into the opening song ‘Pielgrzym’, which is pleasing enough with a central keyboard riff adding to the intricate guitar work. The gang style singing isn’t anything special but it’s not offensive in any way. Then there is the craziness of the track called ‘Of Black Fairies’. It’s a slammer of a song to start, full of energy and bounce, before it drifts off into an ethereal segment which confuses and changes direction; then it rips off again with all kinds of instruments dipping in and out. We then get some tribal drumming on the short track ‘Pył’ which throws yet another curved ball into the mix.
If you think that was crazy enough then ‘… z popiołów’ will surely blow the mind. It’s a rampant Death Metal explosion complete with gruff vocals, battering drums and high intensity riffing which is utterly chaotic. It hurts the ears, fries the brain and is another confusing strand in an album I can best describe as schizophrenic.
From what I understand from the blurb, the lyrics cover Slavic mythology’s descriptions of the four elements, as well as a few other bits and pieces. It’s all very disjointed and having the lyrics in their native tongue, whilst to be applauded, makes one’s interpretation of the songs at least semi-redundant and certainly impossible to follow.
As the album continues, I did find it hard to maintain concentration despite the jagged interplay and variation in songs. The thrashing fire of ‘Ogień’ was reasonably entertaining although the strained vocals were less impressive. By the time I got the seven-minute scramble of ‘Ziemia (Dreamtime)’, I was bemused, confused and a little bored. The songs don’t linger long in the memory, they are abstract and disjointed and whilst there are flashes of brilliance, most notably in the crafted guitar work and solid drumming, overall this is an album I am never likely to play again.
TRACKLISTING:
01. W drodze
02. Pielgrzym
03. Prawdziwa historya o Wiedzmaku
04. Of Black Fairies
05. Pył
06. … z popiołów
07. Woda
08. Ogień
09. Powietrze
10. …i znów gęstnieje mgła…
11. Ziemia (Dreamtime)
12. Auha
LINE-UP:
Paweł Leniart – vocal, bass
Konrad Peszek – guitar
Krystian Szamburski – guitar
Lubor Vanek – drums
LINKS:
