Ukrainian Kladovest no longer features Drudkh Thurios among its ranks on vocals, but the founder Dmitry continues his journey into atmospheric black metal with Ignitiate. Speaking of atmospheric, and only hearing about Kladovest earlier albums, not hearing them firsthand, I would have to say that meandering and mystical, slow developing and all-enveloping atmosphere is not what Ignitiate is about.

Instead, just about every song on the album has lengthy rhythmically very rigid double bass driven moments, so tight and constricted at times, they reveal the absence of a human drummer. Laid over these rhythms, incessant guitars repeat their grating tremolos without an outright obvious melodic chord progression. This is the engine room, moving along, and effectively living the life of its own, with only few melodic sidesteps heard when instrumentation is full force (Hermit Dungeons, Shore of Ancient Moons). Above this monolithic foundation withdrawn and quivering voice of Gjenfard delivers illegible lyrics.

If you survive the frontal wall of Ignitiate, the deeper, more melodic and profound parts await. They are delivered with twangy guitars totally devoted to reverb and distortion. When this sound emerges, Kladovest makes full effort to let it fill out the room. The end of Beneath the Reaper Shadow is a prime example as to how guitars work for the band, in the absence of percussion, to generate their notes. From clean cold water streams of Hermit Dungeons to the sad melodic close of Shore of Ancient Moons, the cleansing side of Kladovest is engaged in a struggle with its more methodical rigidity, in a seemingly losing battle ... until dreamier distracted almost Alcestian Carved in Scars closes out the album.

Not very generous on the amount of riffs and melodic ideas Kladovest introduces, the fans of Ukrainian black metal, specifically of Astrofaeus and older Khors, can see Ignitiate redeeming qualities better than I did.