JUODVARNIS is a Progressive Extreme Metal band hailing from Lithuania, formed in 2011. "Tékmés" is the band's fourth full-length album, and it has seven songs. "Dvasios Ligos" is first, and it has plenty of hardened structures to sink your teeth into. It's dark, aggressive, and emotional, and the harsh vocals rage like someone who was slighted by his lover. Vengeance knows no limits when it comes to love. The clean vocals calm things down just a bit, but the song remains tense and hasty. The rage soon returns however, burning brighter than a collapsing star. "Laikui Varvant" uses a shifting Progressive meter along with keyboards, and a combination of harsh and clean vocals, and there's a grandiose sense of gravity that comes along with the song.

"Tamsiausias Nušvitimas" is slower moving and the harsh vocals sound both rage filled and tortured. The clean vocals add a layer of deep desolation to the music. "Juodos Akys" has a firmer backbone of rhythmic guitar accents and some unusual chord progressions, and this is definitely reflective of the Progressive Metal monster. "Svoris" features thick, meaty bass guitar notes to go along with its despondent landscape. There are also clean vocals, and each note sound sadder than the previous. The harsh vocals, however, burst through with an intensity like a damn giving way to flooding waters. "Platybes" is slower and again, more desperate. The band is quite good at balancing the aggression with the desolation on the album. Each style tells a different tale, but they work well as a whole.

"Tekmes" closes the album, and it's the longest offering. Clean guitars in the opening sound like a warning to me, but their melody is noteworthy. Some of the chords are dissonant, while others have melody. The band walks that tightrope carefully. Overall, this was a fantastic release, and I don't believe I have ever heard a band from Lithuania before. The secret to their sound was combining aggressiveness and torture with atmosphere, ambiance, and melody. There were just enough Progressive elements (odd chord progressions, technical prowess, etc.) to keep the sound modern and interesting, and I would love to hear what the band does next.