Svrm – Мертвий край [EP]

Artist: Svrm
Country: Ukraine
Label: Vendetta Records
Formats: 12″ EP / CD EP
Year: 2026

Although I acknowledge the fact that Vendetta Records usually offers quality in music, I am not really much into the label’s catalogue. Simply because of the fact their niche of rather clean, safe and dreamy sort of Black Metal is not exactly my thing. Nor are the Black Metal/Hardcore and Black Metal/Sludge crosspollinations. Let’s put it this way, the majority of what this left-leaning German label is offering doesn’t sound like Sarcófago, Impaled Nazarene or Blasphemy. Yet, there’s always exception to every rule. In my case that comes in the form of the Ukrainian one-man band Svrm.

Admittedly, Svrm doesn’t sound much like Impaled Nazarene, but I have always had a soft spot for Drudkh, the band that Svrm has undoubtedly taken its cue from. In fact, Drudkh has laid the blueprint for a whole sub-genre of Atmospheric Black Metal that sounds both fierce and melancholic. Maybe Drudkh wasn’t the first band to play music in this particular direction, but for sure they refined and cultivated it.

For me, Svrm has been one of the best musical descendants from that tried-and-tested Drudkh formula. It is not only close to the original blueprints, but its quality is shockingly even as well. The only person behind Svrm, named S, has a pristine sense for suspenseful song writing, heavily laced with dramatic grandeur and melancholy. All woven into (mostly) lengthy tracks, with lots of time and space for tension building and to repeat riffs into infinity. I personally love the dynamics that S is able to add to the music, despite most of the songs evolve around only a couple of rathe simple riffs. It’s certainly not difficult to stay engaged; every track is brimming with stunning musicianship and ingenious compositions. A sound and concept that has since become synonymous with Ukrainian/Russian Black Metal, but while Svrm has been somewhat stuck in the shadows, it can certainly be seen as one of the top contenders of this style.

Whilst the band usually releases several recordings per year, last year was notably quiet, with just a single EP of less than seven minutes’ duration, ‘Скорбота’, which was not even given a physical release. Those two tracks have now been added to this new EP, bringing the total running time to about half an hour. Definitely worth picking up for anyone who considers themselves a fan of the genre.