Artist: Vampirska
Country: USA
Label: Inferna Profundus Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2024
With one demo, three full-length albums and six split releases in about six years, Vampirska is definitely a band that prefers the fast lane – not to mention the other bands the sole member of Vampirska is involved in. Usually that is at least cause for alarm, not infrequently, highly prolific individuals are not good at setting priorities and being self-critical. Resulting in endless streams of rather generic music that the world could easily do without. Okay, I sometimes tend to be a overly critical on this phenomenon, but I daresay that even those who like these mediocre releases are not playing them anymore after just hearing it once or twice after they bought it.
And frankly, Vampirska’s previous output wasn’t all too impressive, going for all trodden paths and cliché’s in the raw-ish and slightly melodic Black Metal. Hunter “Ahravorna” Valentine, the man behind Vampirska, is not necessarily delivered bad records, but it was just not able to stand out sufficiently or grab enough attention to revisit any of his recordings.
By the end of 2024 Ahravorna came up with his third album, ‘A Liminal Heart Paints The Deepest Shade Of Serenity’. A title that basically has almost all cringy and awkward clichés of Black Metal written all over it, and honestly, the same thing applies to the music as well. Again, it is not a bad album per se, but it doesn’t elevate or inspire at all. We are being served with some raw-styled Black Metal, balancing on the verge of Melodic Black Metal with loads of dynamics and variety. With the occasional keyboards, blast beats and an overall production, it all sounds much better on paper than the actual execution. The whole thing is delivered rather soulless and goes by without being any real memorable moments.
Without wanting to sound all too harsh, Vampirska is pre-eminently the textbook example that just cool aesthetics will not get you to the core of the Black Metal genre. If you’re planning to pick this record up, you don’t necessarily have the worst album ever on your hands, but you do have one that will forever be gathering dust in the deeper corners of your collection.
