This is a US band (Pennsylvanian to be exact), and "Blackest Autumn" is their demo CD. They play raw, minimalistic black metal with pro-LaVeyan lyrics.

The instruments here are competent, but nothing remarkable. The vocals are the standard black metal snarl, which fits the music well. Vukodlak have used a very simple production, which conjures a somewhat one-dimensional sound requiring concentration from the listener. My main complaint here is that the drums could have been moved up in the mix - they could have been much more powerful if they weren't buried under the guitar.

I'm not quite sure what to think of Vukodlak. A few of the songs here are somewhat interesting ("Blackest Autumn", "Blessed Be Thy Children"), but others are filled with boring and unoriginal riffs, and add nothing new ("Cryptic Passage" is almost completely by-the-book, and the main part of "Quasv a Na" sounds like an overused punk riff!) To put it simply, if Vukodlak can get better songwriting they could become a good band, but as things stand they are an example of one of the main flaws of USBM - too many bands with very little to offer mock the achievements of the few elite Black Metal bands in the US, thus making it harder for any US bands to be taken seriously. "Blackest Autumn" is not recommended.

Standout tracks: "Blackest Autumn", "Blessed By Thy Children"

© 2001 vorfeed