VOKODLOK is a Romanian black metal band, and a raw one at that.  Their latest release, "Oracle's Fury," is their first EP and first release since their 2003 full length debut, "Mass Murder Genesis."  They have also released a demo and one split. The production isn't raw-in fact, I found the production to be some of the best I've heard this year in extreme metal.  However, the vocals and the music are both raw as hell, an intense brand of black metal that is straight up searing.  The album, consisting of five original songs and one cover, doesn't contain one dull moment.

The first track, "Myths," opens the album with that classic black metal guitar tone: evil, powerful, and filled to the brim with rage and fury.  The drums hit all the right notes at the right time and accent the overall atmosphere well.  This track is a slower dirge in the beginning but it nails that bleak and cold blackened atmosphere.  The vocals are violent enough to handle the sudden change in tempo around the halfway mark for a burst of unbridled energy that leads into a surprisingly melodic guitar solo.

Speaking of melody, the band certainly isn't afraid to throw some into their aggressive sound as evident of the bass in the beginning of the second track, "Alive.  The guitars soon join in with their own melody but it is subtle enough to not be distracting and doesn't take away from the despair.  The halfway point is made up of clean guitar and provides a slick change of pace. The third track, "In The Mind," has deep but rich clean guitar/bass in the song's beginning seconds.  The distortion and vocals soon enough and at a cadence that is shockingly catchy but also the audio equivalent of a some sort of monster stalking you. The insanely spastic vocals in the last half of the song states how vicious this EP can be.

The first quarter of "O.F." is a clean guitar that transitions smoothly into proper black metal destruction but also sets up the melodic tone for the rest of the song.  I loved that despite how extreme the song's mid section is, the last minute or so brings it all back full circle to the song's beginning. "The Weak," is anything but and is one of the better songs presented.  In particular, it effectively combines the band's natural, raw sound with melody but without leaning too heavy on either aspect. I loved the song's mid section with the sorrow filled melodic leads being ripped to shred by the vocals.

The final track is a cover of DIES IRAE's "I Build The Symmetry of Chaos."  Although familiar with this band, I haven't heard this particular song.  With that being said, VOKODLOK does make it their own.  The bass is a highlight in this track. "Oracle's Fury," is a short but sweet release.  I enjoyed every second of its twenty three minute run time and there are certainly worse ways a person could spend their time.  I am eagerly looking forward to their next full length album.  If you like black metal at all, I suggest looking into this album.