If Folk Metal outfit FALKENBACH and Black Metal gods EMPEROR had a lovechild than one-man Ukrainian Atmospheric Black Pagan Metal ZGARD would be it.

The man himself Yaromisi has impressed me with his latest installment 'Contemplation' and his music in general. When I was first introduced to the sound I instantly thought that Black Metal was going to be the genre depicted on this album; I was proved wrong however via the opening track "Highlands" where some unexpected pagan sounding instruments came in.

As the album progressed I was getting more and more intrigued with his sound; particularly when you didn't know what to expect next. That was a huge highlight for me on the album; the element of surprise, no track sounded exactly the same as the other. Especially when it came to the track "Silence" that reminded me very much of a song you would practice Yoga or Pilates to.

The atmospheric sound effects such as the howling wind and the clapping thunder developed the tracks further; it was similar to listening to an epic film soundtrack. I can also imagine thousands of metal heads swishing their long soft hair along to the sweeping guitar riffs and rolling drums. This is demonstrated in tracks such as "Incarnation Memory" and "Wedge Of Cranes".

After "Through the Forest" had finished I found myself disappointed that the album had to come to an end, I wanted more.

So as you can tell from this review; I enjoyed the album very much. It is now clear to me why he has been described as one of the most interesting Ukrainian newcomers. My last few words would be listen to this album right now.