HELLVETO

"In the Glory of Heroes" from Poland's HELLVETO is another in a long-line of strong releases from Singapore's Pulverised Records. Mastermind L.O.N. who began the project in 1995 has crafted a haunting and majestic album that sews together pagan black metal with a substantial symphonic element that is dark and haunting. That the man performs all the instruments is even more impressive. Divided into two parts, the music is well thought out and comes across as a consistently captivating listening from the first track to the last. It just goes to show that Poland continues to be one of the world's true metal havens, producing high quality acts year after year.

Though there is a large amount of black metal firepower in the way of the genre's distinctive guitar harmonies and relentless aggression, all of it is backed by beautiful orchestration. In a few spots one will hear only the symphonic instrumentation; the strings and keyboard work expertly blended with the more aggressive material. For example, "Last Moments…" is an alluring string composition, the sounds wafting through the air and providing a kind of reprieve from the ferocity of the previous three tracks. Perhaps more importantly, the elegant compositions paint pictures in the mind of ancient times and far off lands, as any good arrangement should. L.O.N.'s gruff vocals sit back in the mix and rather than being problematic from a mixing standpoint act as an ingredient equal to the rest of the instruments, thereby allowing the tracks to breathe. The album even boasts a marginal hypnotic quality when heard in one sitting, particularly given the right frame of mind.

The end result is a disc that requires a few spins to absorb, ultimately making the experience a satisfying one. On balance, I found a tad more enjoyment in VEHEMENTER NOS' recent self-titled release. However, the vibe of each album is not quite the same, as "In the Glory of Heroes" features a more pronounced symphonic approach. Either way, HELLVETO should appeal to most fans of symphonic black metal that is written with soul and played with passion.