I first encountered Severoth on the In Mordor Where the Shadows Are Summoning tribute compilation, producing a drawn-out, utterly distorted version of A Distant Flame Before the Sun that was nearly unrecognizable, yet oddly grand in conception. The Ukrainian one-man project returned this past year with a full-length that, for me, reinforces that first impression. Vsesvit is a haunting balancing act, two parts soundtrack-y nature-BM to one part shrieking anguish.

The first track sets the tone: Whistling little flute- and ocarina-patch keyboards surround a distorted horn for a couple of minutes before an overwhelming wall of blastbeat noise takes up the tune. The vocals, even the clean ones, are unrecognizable background noise pushed far away in the mix from the main instruments, like Severoth is singing from down the hallway -- unless he's shrieking at top volume, in which case he's right in the listener's ears. The keyboard work subtly repeats itself, changing slowly under an ocean of noise.

At times, the slow evolution of these tracks might stretch the patience of some listeners. With an even denser layer of guitar racket burying most of Severoth's usual subtlety, Porozhnega is just about as empty as its title implies. Sribni zori besny is much more dramatic, starting with a booming spoken invocation, while the final track pairs an abrasive guitar with a tinkling keyboard on the quiet sections of the song, giving off a Burzum vibe that is helped along by the droned clean chorus, even further back behind the instruments than usual.

Lyrically, and on occasion musically, Vsesvit bears some resemblance to similarly nature-themed metal albums from the US and UK. But the Ukrainian version is clearly a harsher, colder species of the genre, and likely more acceptable to fans of Burzum and its followers.

Bandcamp: https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/vsesvit.