Almost a year ago to today I reviewed a band called HAIL DARKNESS and their presumed release Death Divine. As it turns out, the band was essentially an AI hoax. The band, the album, and their entire discography were all created by AI. The big issue is the people behind the endeavor promoted HAIL DARKNESS as an actual band. I gave them a shit review. Deceit is deceit.

Flash forward a year. On October 17, 2025, CZART, a multimediA extreme metal project hailing from Suwalszczyzna, Poland, released their debut album, Czarty Polskie (trans: Polish devils) via Code666/Aural Music. It's sheer genius. The difference? Well, first off, CZART has been completely open about their work with AI, leveraging it as tool rather than a veil. Second, and probably most importantly, the music is legitimately good. Third, their videos are mind blowing. Fourth, full disclosure, as readers of my reviews will know, I am something of a Polonophile. I just love the country, the people, their culture, and their metal scene. So, admittedly, some bias here.

Let's start with origins. CZART is the brainchild of Michał Chrościelewski and Paweł Smarkusz. The pair met in 1996 and embarked on several projects, together as well as separately. Then, as circumstance or luck or fate would have it, Michał happened across a work by Julian Tuwim called Czary i czarty polskie oraz Wypisy czarnoksięskie (trans: Polish Spells and Devils, with Occult Excerpts). The book was published in 1924. In the volume, Tuwim "described how devils, though formless, could create bodies from air and earthly vapors and speak in an 'artificial language.' Almost a century later, CZART was born.

Sometime in March 2025 I started to see CZART videos creep up in my YouTube feed. They are disturbing and bizarre and absolutely compelling. I couldn't look away. As I read the video descriptors I saw the same statement on each: "The video was created using AI visual tools. The music was created from our own recordings using AI tools." Their later promo material would also state: "By integrating AI into music composition and video design, the project achieves a surreal, dreamlike vibe that stimulates the imagination and heightens the sense of mystery." So, A+ for honesty. Clearly AI was not a ruse for CZART but rather a fundamental part of their vision. In a way, AI is analogous to the demonic 'artificial language' which Tuwim said demons manipulate to take form. In short, AI is a tool of the devil. For most people, that would be an indictment; in the world of metal, it's kind of an endorsement.

The album itself comprises 16 tracks for a total of about 42 minutes. All the tracks are fairly short. Most vocals are harsh with the exception of the vocals contributed by Monika Chrościelewska which are ironically angelic, especially when juxtaposed with the music. The music style is decidedly Death Metal, except when it isn't like the eclectic jazz interludes and acoustic breaks. If you want to hear all three of these aspects at play in a single track, try "Peregrynacja dziadowska" (trans: beggar's pilgrimage).

Standout tracks include "Księga grzechów" (trans: book of sins) for its urgent yet yearnful vocals offset by clean, haunting AI vocals (!!) which act as a soothing salve to all the discord. I also enjoyed the pairing of "Ballada o spalonych kwiatach" (trans: ballad of burnt flowers) and "W głębi boru ciemnego" (trans: in the depths of the dark forest). Another favorite is "Gusła miłosne" (trans: love spells) for its mix of Groove and Thrash. And just to round things out I'll include "W sercu gaju" (trans: in the heart of the grove) to my list. It's the one track the approximates a calm meditative vibe, the operative word being "approximates." 

If I were to select standout videos from the 11 released as of October 26, I would start my list with "Noc zatracenia" (trans: night of perdition). It would also include "W sercu gaju" again and "Czart rogat" (trans: horned devil) because of the goat, who I just need to call Phillip. Sorry.

Final comments. CZART's Czarty Polskie is a watershed album. They legitimize the whole AI metal endeavor . . . and if that sounds like sacrilege, remember metalheads have a long tradition of treading heretical paths. In fact, it may be the original sin that got us dismissed from the Garden, or better yet, the very thing that got Satan cast out of heaven.  In short, dissonance and defiance are our marks. And besides, there's always space for another subgenre in the metalverse.