Atra Haeresis - Pretium? [Death/Black Metal Review]

 

ATRA HAERESIS play a classic fusion of death and black metal. The band has an international lineup which consists of Alexander Dorokhin who is responsible for the songwriting, Sergei Ambrazevich on vocals, Alexander Antygin on guitars, Alexey "Fenrir" Veselov on the bass. Also there is a number of guest appearances on other tracks. Artem Kovrigin and S.Krysenko (Sergius Proprius) have written the lyrics for Man Through Epochs, Pretium and Aendor Witch. The debut album of the band titled “Pretium” was released via Satanath Records (Russia), Kryrart Records (Germany), Death Portal Studio (USA) and Void Wanderer Productions (Netherlands) on the 26th of August 2021.

The sound production performs high quality but definitely it is not overproduced. This style of sounding death black metal can be considered old-school. The songs are catchy, heavy and very dynamic. Behemoth, Belphegor, Dissection, Septic Flesh, Rotting Christ as well as Dark Funeral and Vital Remains come to mind when listening to this album. The slower and more atmospheric change of pace on songs like Vaunted Dyer even has hints of Opeth and Katatonia to it, with a superb atmospheric solo in it. Overall the highlights of the album are Vaunted Dyer, Pretium and Aendor Witch.

Aendor Witch has especially strong Septic Flesh influences, a very dark eastern ethnic aura is surrounding the song. Cover artwork was done by Vladimir "Smerdulak" Chebakov, it has a surreal horror vibe to it and fits the music perfectly. Looking on the cover and listening to the music brings to the mind the works of Clive Barker and Howard Lovecraft as well as some more obscure authors like Sadegh Hedayat (on the more eastern sounding tracks). Overall it is a solid high quality album and a must-listen for anyone into black or death metal.

by Anton "Vargtimmen" Bryukov