Heiden – Andzjel
Release Date: 11th November 2022
Label: Magick Disk Musick
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Prog, Black Metal, Post-Rock.
FFO: Opeth
Review By: Scott Hudson
HEIDEN return with a shorter, more focused effort, aiming to clock in quality rather than quantity. 9 albums in and we are looking at growth rather than doing the same thing each time… although that repeat and formula can be a good thing, right? Can anyone really say that AC/DC have had much growth? Has Biffy suddenly done away with jagged guitar lines and sing-along choruses… just saying!
Full disclosure, my Czech is lacking, but there is no doubting the strength of opener Nevěřím Těm Očím which Google Translate (which will be my best friend here in this review) believes means ‘don’t’ or ‘cant believe those eyes?’. Swelling use of strings and death growls dominate an excellent opener which then changes time signature midway, providing excellent atmosphere which HEIDEN are clearly masters of.
V Hodině Vlka begins with a kind of death knell, but then it could be something cheery – I think the read-up of them being a death band and pagan has influenced my critique here! For all I know, this could be a happy-go-lucky signal to have pie! We then move into spoken word and a jagged riff punctuated with growls from Kverd, this has cranked up the intensity even more on the album.
Musím Ti Tolik říct starts off slow, I genuinely was confused what HEIDEN were trying to achieve here, but again pulls through this excellent use of the theme and atmosphere and reverb. Will this be on repeat? Unlikely. But a solid filler.
September, which is what I am told by Google Září translates into; is perfectly pitched, dripping with threat and menace before pulling away into Kverd dominating the midpoint of the song and then descending back into the throbbing hook and excellent use of keys. Werlinga is making every track pop on this album, the work is enthralling.
Sviť Měsíčku, Jasno, I am told is a take on folklore (from a reliable source) and this brings in some nice use of reverb and HEIDEN really use their background and past to pull this filler of a track in. The penultimate track of Andzjel is Běsů Se Nezbavíš, using Sviť Měsíčku, Jasno as a foil and falling fully and gloriously back into HEIDEN’S death metal background. I am not a huge fan of the haunted house keys here, but it’s a decent track rather than a standout.
Thematically and musically, Patřím Sem fits in nicely as the end of a trilogy, of the previous 2 tracks. Epic, blustering, delicate and rough, Patřím Sem is the gem in this short album and an excellent bookend bringing past and present together.
(3 / 5)
