Okay, so clearly a lot is happening in the Ukraine at the moment, and most of it bad. When I received this album for review, it took me a moment to process. OMHOSTEN (trans: Autumn) is a Black Metal project from multi-instrumentalist Stan Skrebniev out of Cherkasy, Ukraine. We hope he is safe.

Stan released OMHOSTEN's debut album, "Music of the Great Beyond," on January 7, 2022 via Kvlt und Kaos Productions. Stan describes the music as a "melodic melancholic atmospheric black metal" and that pretty much nails it. "Music of the Great Beyond" will draw you in to its cold, stark landscape and bare its soul, and a dark one it is. From the opening strains of "Will I Be Damned by All the Gods" to the brutal "Retaliation Night" to the aching outro of "After All Things That Happen," you can't help but to think upon the current situation and feel the almost prophetic power of this album. The line from "When the Last Lifetime is Torn Apart" effectively sums it up:

"After all things that happened
Death is usual to all
We are possessed by indifference
There's no more truth and truthful people"

"Music of the Great Beyond" comprises a massive 12 tracks and has a runtime of over 52 minutes. Although Stan has noted that he prefers to create music on his own, the album does feature several guests. While Stan Skrebniev covers guitars, songwriter, bass, vocals on tracks 1 - 5 and guitars on tracks 6 - 11, he is joined by Yuri Kononov (SAUROCTONOS) who handles the drums on the entire album, Nikolay Nimmerzet Kushnir who takes on guitars and vocals for tracks 6 - 11. Nikolay is also the lyricist for 10 songs along with Alexey Sidorenko (DEMONOLOGIST) for tracks 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11.

Thematically, promo material states: "OMHOSTEN conveys all the dampness and depressiveness of late autumn, inspired by the Cherkasy forest. It´s time to plunge into your thoughts and sum up the results of life. The minor soundtrack for the thoughts of all beings." And sure enough the majority of the lyrics focus on the dark emptiness of life accented with anger and raw dissonance. This, coupled with the classic tonality of 90's Black Metal, works to steep "Music of the Great Beyond" in the familiar and comfortable grayscape of melodic disharmony.

Go to tracks are: "Will I Be Damned by All the Gods," "Under the Control of Unknown Desire," "Om Hosten," and "The World Unmanned." I should note that the last several minutes of "Under Control of Unknown Desire" is pure Black Metal mana. The final track, "After All Things That Happen" is also exceptional, though it is all synth and piano it's both atmospheric and stirring-a suitable closing to the album. "Music of the Great Beyond" stands on its own as slab of iconic black metal artistry, though the added context of the war adds an unfortunate layer of pathos. If you are a fan of Black Metal, this is an album you should try.