Poland has a long and storied history with Extreme Metal, in particular Blackened Death Metal. From huge acts like BEHEMOTH, VADER and HATE through to the underground, it seems that this is one of the hotbeds of the Blackened Death Metal scene. POENARI are one of the bands that have been peddling this kind of music in underground for the last five years. Having recently signed to E.E.E Recordings, the band have been able to reissue their second album, "Wrath, War, Lucifer", a move that will hopefully bring them wider recognition in the scene and critical acclaim.

"Angel's Wings" bursts out of the speaker in a blaze of vicious, Blackened fury. The riffs and vocals are razor sharp, some equally punishing drums making a powerful backdrop for the guitar lines. It's a song that doesn't stick around, but it manages to grab the listeners attention abruptly. "Lucifer" is a powerful slab of thrashing Black Metal with vicious, juggernaut drumming that really helps to beef out the sound. Whereas the first two songs are short and to the point, "On Fire" is a vast, sprawling track with plenty of cool ideas in it. This song could have worked as a slow or even mid-tempo track, but it remains fastidiously fast and aggressive throughout. At points this track is just a little repetitive, but the music on offer here is pretty good, so criticism is a fairly obsolete one. "Red", with its awesome, tremolo picked leads, is an absolute beast of a tune, one that could become a set in stone classic for the band. This is the sort of song that many Blackened Death Metal acts would love to call their own. "Son of Life" and  "Of Madness" are two more slabs of excellent Blackened Death Metal with a harsh, dissonant edge, driven by speed and killer riffs. "Wolf" is a track as feral and violent as its namesake, with some really interesting drumming and guitar work that makes it a really memorable track. Both "Schizfa" and "Betrayed" up the Black Metal ante, with some really cool, buzzing guitar lines and relentless drums. They both have a raw side to them which really helps to turn them from good songs into great ones. The final track, "Ritual", is overtly ferociously and heavy, as if they're trying to hit you with a final burst of fury before the album ends. There's a lot of great guitar lines on here, from the tight tremolo hooks through to the thick and potent rhythm sections. It's a great way to close this record.

This is a fairly solid album with a lot of great music on it. At times, the fact that the album is overly aggressive and heavy can put you off, as there's no mid-paced tracks or cleaner tones to break up the relentless musical assault, but the vast majority of the music on here is very good, and doesn't keep a song going longer than is absolutely necessary. If you like you're Black Metal vicious and brutal, this is something you should definitely check out.