From Bandcamp,” Machukha [Ukrainian: "step-mother"] utilizes elements of post-black metal, dark hardcore, and punk. The band members come from diverse musical, social, and cultural backgrounds. Through mutual understanding and collaboration, they have established a creative process that reflects the band's primary goal: to express their shared experiences of retaining humanity in a harsh world.” The album has seven songs.

Trymatys' is first. Picture torture, and get that image in your head. Knives, machetes, blood, suffering, all of it. Now, multiply it by 100, and that is exactly what you get when you listen to this song…never-ending pain. It segues into “Dykhay,” which has a slower pace, but the intensity is still off the charts. Listen to the repeated vocal screams…they speak of torture, pain, and anger. “Bezpliddya” utilizes lower and more guttural vocals, and a thick, angry sound to tell its tale of suffering and torment. It’s almost as if you took the pain scale to describe how you are feeling and it stays at a 10 for days…weeks…even months.

“Inodi padaye snih tak lahidno krizʹ sosnovu khvoyu” offers more of the hopeless and depressive side of our existence, and solemn, clean guitar tones haunt us in places we haven’t visited in our head for years. It rolls quietly into “Tsyu tayemnytsyu duzhe vazhko berehtym,” and the snippets of screams we heard in the last song stick with us. Your senses are then heightened when the agony and anguish begin in the vocals. “Kvit” hears the fast-paced torture return in a manner that is akin to a fire that burns your flesh endlessly, and you can never escape it. “Nezrushnist'” closes the album. It begins with a steady and tense drum beat that builds slowly, and the anticipation is almost worse than its deadly bite. The mutilator is back, and he licks his chops. If you think you were in pain before, just wait.

The album feels like a visceral portrayal of humanity being overwhelmed by the harshness of the world. Each track plunges the listener into a sonic landscape where raw intensity and unrelenting soundscapes mirror the struggle and resilience of the human spirit against relentless adversity. The music envelops you, creating an experience that is both profound and unsettling, capturing the essence of a world that is unforgiving.