CHERNOTA is a Black Metal duo from the mysterious land of Russia. (They haven't provided very many details about their background so that makes them mysterious in my opinion; anyway, moving on now.) "When My Blood Runs Cold" is their only album currently. For a first-time effort its quite good, too.

"Cease The Insanity" starts out with nearly hyper-active energy, featuring a lot of chaos combined with sheer noise. The Black Metal-style vocals have an unusually harsh edge to them, even for that genre. A somewhat out-of-tune (intentionally) guitar riff adds a nice touch to the mix as it highlights the lyrics being sung. It serves as a great attention-getter. The song moves along at a brisk pace which is never a bad thing. I really like it.

"Solipsist" has much more melodic sub-influence versus the first track. The vocals take on an even angrier tone, sounding much closer to classic Black Metal in style. The song is much slower-paced as well as heavier with regard to its overall sound. Something about the mix falls a bit flat for some reason; it's almost too "off-tuned", making it an annoyance rather than something that enhances the sound quality. It's a good song nonetheless. "Scent Of Death" moves along faster. It has several great guitar riffs along with another classic Black Metal vocal performance by Marina Kuznetsova. I like the pace of the song much more than the previous one. The quicker pace makes it easier to stay engaged to what you're listening to. Sometimes with slower tracks it becomes easier to watch the clock rather than pay attention to the composition itself because you find yourself anxious for it to end. Not the case with this track fortunately. "Markot Mitzrayim" is extremely distorted and out-of-tune. Again, the mix is off somewhat, causing irritation instead of enjoyment. However, the music itself is oddly appealing, off-tuned or not. You find yourself drawn to it no matter how much you try to resist it. It's a compelling song by the time all is said and done.

"When My Blood Runs Cold" is also down-tempo as well as off-tuned as the music leads to the vocals. The performance this time features far more variation in pitch as well as tone which is a pleasant surprise. A well-played guitar solo is the highlight of the track. Although its fairly brief it's still quite good. I like this song the most so far, it's excellent! "Right Inside Your Head" has a more melodic-style intro which is another welcome surprise. The vocal performance has that unusually harsh quality to it again. It's not bad at all. It anything it adds a touch of rage that gives more conviction to the composition, adding more impact to the words themselves that are being sung; actually growled and screeched, but you get the idea. Regarding the last three tracks on the album, "Maleficium" and "Samsara" are alright, but don't stand out very much when compared to the other tracks. "Here Is Now Your Home," on the other hand, does stand out. With its heavily melodic intro that has a distinctly Gothic feel to it, the song is simply terrific. The pace of the vocals differs somewhat from that of the backing music at first, creating an excellent contrast between the two. As the music increases its speed it ends up matching the pace of the vocals, making the track even better than it was before. If I had to choose only one song from the album to recommend, this would be it. The band definitely plays their best on it.

 As I said earlier, this is quite good for a first album. I think it should be in any collection featuring a lot of Black Metal. It's worth the money for sure.