From their EPK, “After four years of silence since their last release and with only a handful of live performances in the meantime, SRD spawn their third full-length release baptized as “Vragvmesiton.” The naming itself undoubtedly unfamiliar to a foreigner, pays no homage to a native either. While coinage is theirs alone and for that matter translation into lingua franca of our time too difficult to bother, the idea within – which is that of temptations and limitations of flesh in feud with reason yet transcendence of the spirit; that of chaos opposed to order and form; that of Dionysian against Apollonian; that of abhorred standing against divine – is familiar to us all.”

The album has six songs, and “Kačji Mašeljn” is first. It’s a thick and overgrown Black Metal meal that you can’t even fit in your mouth. The vocals are powerful and deadly, and the band sets their foot on the gas pedal and only lets up for brief moments. “Môra” begins with clean guitars and a more somber tone, but it segues into another contentious sound. The steady presence of guitar and drums keeps the machine moving, almost like a nest of worker bees. The title track begins with some guitar dissonance that segues into a groove of dissonance. The raspy vocals are a nice touch here—they give the song all the “ummph” it needs to carry forward.

“Orji” has more powerful and contentious moments, and it’s obvious at this point in the album that the band has plenty of confidence. The bass is pronounced, something that is often lost in the mix. It swells and retracts, and when it swells, it pushes boundaries. “Mrtvaški Ples” is a bit shorter, but moves with haste and speed. It’s almost like the way that the poisonous snake the taipan stalks its prey. It is known to slither as fast speeds and not stop until it has made a kill. Death comes quickly from it. “Kaštiga” closes the album. It’s a slow, powerful, and harrowing experience, bringing to light things you thought were buried well in the recesses of your mind.

Overall, the structure and weight of the album might be its greatest strength, along with the vocals. But, it’s the confidence of the band that strikes me most. They create a torturous landscape that you don’t even want to think about, much less set foot in. The entire time you are listening, however, it hypnotizes you into taking one step closer, and then another, until you are there, swallowed by flames.