Artist: Chevallier Skrog
Country: Czechia
Label: Cosmic Cause Productions
Formats: Digital
Year: 2026
Fans of Chevallier Skrog usually don’t have to wait long for new material. Sometimes it seems like things are quiet around this project for a little while, but then it suddenly pops up like a jack-in-the-box with a few releases in a row. This latest album is one in a series of new releases from this Czech one-man band, but although it may be a very productive project, you never know exactly what you’re going to get. MBN, the man behind Chevallier Skrog, is an unpredictable character, which is part of what makes this particular project of his so interesting.
This project’s last release was the split tape with the quirky German Moospirscher, which came out in May of 2025, and showed Chevallier Skrog from a very dark and sinister side. Almost Funeral Doom-like, with a dragging pace and a thoroughly eerie atmosphere. ‘Stíny Domoviny’, which translates to something like ‘Shadows Of Homeland’ or ‘Homeland’s Shadows’, largely builds on that creepy vibe. Again the pace is considerably slow, but it does not lean as much on Funeral Doom’s aesthetics.
Instead, it is firmly rooted in the repetitive nature of bands like Burzum and very early Xasthur. The incantatory and delirious atmosphere, built on that repetitive character grows on throughout the full album and slowly progresses to nightmarish proportions. Especially when the music transforms into playing a ritualistic role and MBN’s croaking vocals take over it does remind on the earliest work of Black Funeral as well. I wouldn’t call it overly original, but it is exceptionally well performed at it fits seamlessly with what I know about those creepy Eastern European myths and tales. Perhaps it is just my imagination, but with the meaning of the title in mind and this music playing in a fairly dark room, I can vividly imagine the world of what the Czechs call “strašidlain”, a spectrum of supernatural beings, ghosts, and monsters from folklore and fairy tales.
