Artist:Smyrtonos / Vagabond
Country: Bulgaria
Label: Blasphemous Rumours Promotion
Formats: Split Tape
Year: 2025
After no less than five new releases in 2024, including the debut album, this year so far was remarkably quiet for Bulgarian Raw Black Metal act Smyrtonos (or Смъртонос), but with this new split tape, with fellow Bulgarian Vagabond, the silence has finally been broken. It was released on Blasphemous Rumours Promotion, a relatively new underground label from Bulgaria. This would typically be the kind of tape that could have been released on his own Diabolic Hate Propaganda Records label, were it not for the fact that he closed that label for the second time earlier this year. This going in and out of business with both his bands and label kind of fits the personality of Todorac, it wouldn’t be the first time he switches focus or changes his mind. But, how confusing this might be for us mortal souls, it kind of adds to the mystique.
The three tracks Todorac serves us with this time are, again, unreleased demo tracks that were re-recorded. That means that they have the same kind of coherency as ‘Ceremonial Blaze’ that was released last year – also consisting out of a loosely collected set of old songs. That means that you should be prepared for what is basically three completely different songs with all three a distinctively different sound and production. That, as said, adds to the volatile and rathe schizophrenic soul of the project. Yet, they certainly share the same kind of stinging urgency that typifies basically everything that Todorac does. The same can be said about the drug-infused wickedness that is poured in the majority in his work, here most evident in the second song, ‘Night Of The Ancient’, that, because of the weird “clean” vocals in the second half, wears a slight resemblance with Woods Of Infinity. If you have ever been a fan of Smyrtonos and was able to appreciate the somewhat harsher and less slick sounding recordings, this is just another couple of songs you’ll enjoy.
Although the duo behind Vagabond were allegedly both previously active in a band called Vela Pulsar and they released a (digital) demo earlier this year, this was a new band to me. Compared to Smyrtonos they sound a bit more composed and less based on impulsive and improvised song writing, yet the most striking element here are the vocals. Vagabond does not employ standard black metal shrieks, but instead utilizes almost grunt-like vocals interspersed with spoken word. Which fits to the overall music that is also not really typical Black Metal, the two young lads add lots of doomy passages, in which the spoken word remind of old UK Doom/Death acts, and rely on a profound riff-based song writing. The latter gives the music a bit of a Death Metal connotation, not much unlike the second album of Enshadowed from Greece. The strongest connection with Smyrtonos, however, is the lack of cohesion within their contribution of this split tape. The songs are almost certainly recorded in different sessions, as they all sound completely different when it comes to the productional cosmetics. All in all, this was not an unpleasant introduction, but the band has not yet managed to make a lasting impression.
