Artist: Wilczyca
Country: Poland
Label: Godz Ov War Productions
Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD
Year: 2023
“When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the Earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the Earth.” Revelation 6:7–8.
This scene from the bible was once beautifully illustrated by the French artist Gustave Doré and famously used in Black Metal circles on the iconic cover of Emperor’s ‘Self-titled’ EP. It is not unlikely that the Polish band Wilczyca drew a similar inspiration from the bible quote for the cover of their fourth album ‘Magija’, with Death portrayed by vocalist Nidhogg and instrumentalist Louve wearing a mask that could very well signify Christ and his crown of thorns. Certainly a striking imagery that is far from common in the landscape of Black Metal cover art. And musically, Wilczyca doesn’t exactly walk the trodden paths either.
While the harmonious double guitar riffs and thick bass sound of ‘Ingressum’ may be considered an intro, the second track ‘Magija’ served us with an ever-expanding riff upon a mid tempo drum backdrop with a bass pulse that together remind me of Black Sabbath’s eponymous song. Through a meandering melody and hissing distorted vocals, the music slowly drags itself away from the Doom Metal forefathers, but it takes until the very end for the drum pace to introduce the Black Metal sound of Wilczyca’s prior work. ‘Przyzywam’ on the other hand starts out of the gates with the fire and intensity that the previous albums had displayed, with its traditional Norwegian riffs and striking distorted Black Metal shrieks. Whereas the guitar sound isn’t exceptionally raw and actually deceptively layered and complementary, subtle addition of keyboards enhance the darkness of the music. The bass plays a prominent role as well, continuously shifting the flow of the songs with a creativity that one often only finds in the guitar riffs. While songs like ‘Wij Się Z Bólu Córo Syjonu’ harbor more of the straightforward Black Metal influences of the band, the integration of the aforementioned traditional Doom Metal influence come to fruition in the more epic and Heavy Metal based song ‘Święty Ogień’. But possibly the best marriage of Black Metal and Black Sabbath comes in ‘Tetragrammaton’, a song that starts deceitfully sorrowful depressive with a haunting guitar riff against a writhing and shifting drum section, until a ferocious burst in pace drastically changes the course of the song until that same haunting melody reappears.
‘Magija’ continues where the band left off on ‘DrakoNequissime’, moving slightly further away from the more conventional and rawer Black Metal sound of the earliest albums at the favour of a more diverse and unique palette. But make no mistake, the latest Wilczyca has every bit of dark essence that is expected from Polish Black Metal. Even more so, in a scene that’s known for their musicality and often unique approach to the genre, Wilczyca stands out. Unconventional artwork, the dark hissing distortion of the vocals, progressive bass lines combined with layers of guitars and ever shifting drum pace make this a Black Metal album that isn’t like many others.
