Ukraine has dealt with a ton of trouble with Russia in the past little while, and they were the center of a lot of news. As of late, Ukraine has become less and less focused on by the news, so lets take your attention back there for a minute with the newest album out of Season Of Mist from the Black Metal band, BLOOD OF KINGU. The thing that instantly drew me in here was that, although BLOOD OF KINGU are solid Black Metal, there's no doubting that their lyrics are very Folk Metal. The lyrics are strongly about stories you would tell around a campfire, so this would be perfect for a ton of metalheads camping.

One of the first things I noticed with this album is that it reminded me of a band I never expected to be reminded of, SEPTICFLESH. Not from the music itself, but the samples the band uses. Mainly in SEPTICFLESH's most recent album, "Titan", you hear a lot of pounding in the background that sounds like stomping, which appears in this album as well. The main track I'd like to point out in is "Mother Hydra"; between the sound of people stomping, and the atmospheric chants (may be the wrong word, it sounds like "throat singing", I don't know if that's what it's called but that's what Big Bang Theory calls it); the song almost sounds like it takes place inside a temple. As I lay there listening to this song, I imagined I was walking through the main room of a temple, towards a figure with a priest chanting on either side of me, but that's just me. "Sigil Of The Watcher" was another song I was really drawn to; the songs introduction really pulls you in, almost sounding tribal in ways. Once the vocals properly kick in and the instrumentals stop, it gives a sense that you're to be standing at attention to this figure, like you're literally being spoken to by something. Being watched. The atmosphere that BLOOD OF KINGU develops with this album is fantastic. It's been a long time since a Black Metal album has given me this sort of magic effect with it's atmosphere. The transitions need a mention of their own; the transitions from one song into the next are perfect, and at no point does the album feel like it breaks up. The flow is incredible throughout the entire album and in Black Metal specifically, over any other section of Metal, that's huge.

Honestly when it comes to Black Metal, I'm probably not the person to come to. Black Metal is a rarity for me to like, so when I like a Black Metal album, its different for me. BLOOD OF KINGU's album "Dark Stars On The Right Horn Of The Crescent Moon" is incredible; it's in a league of its own. Its something that a year from now, I'll probably still be listening to.