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BÖLZER
Soma EP

Invictus Productions (2014)
Rating: 8/10

Soma is the rather bracing second EP from Swiss black metallers Bölzer. If their two EPs are anything to go by then these guys could become quite a force within the extreme metal field, because this two-track outing is one that should crack a few heads.

The band consists of duo HzR (drums) and KzR (everything else). Their moniker roughly translates as “bolt” or “to drive fast”, but this is so much more than just your usual speedy black metal barrage. In fact, this band is an infectious disease which grows on you the more and more you experience it. The band mixes some very deathly black metal with a touch of old school grim thrash, but it’s executed in such meaty and arrogant fashion that you’d think these guys were a well-established act cruising through their career.

The EP opens with the gruelling ‘Steppes’ which features a hoarse vocal delivery that is complemented well by the stirring guitar work that, although very much of that black metal vein, is one which comes complete with weight. The drums are weighty too; the combo finds a nice mid-tempo range in order to speak of their occult philosophy, and the war-torn construction of it all tends to lead one into a wiry maze of swaggering snarls and deathly arrogance. In fact, this is reasonably complex death / black metal featuring an excellent segment of narrated vocal alongside a piercing guitar tone, and above all, a truly wholesome atmosphere akin to being launched into some underground chamber.

While death metal with black metal streaks is becoming increasingly popular, these guys have been turning heads since their debut Aura EP (2013), although here it’s the eerie sense of melody which prevails and makes Bölzer such a strong outfit to contend with. The music has a real depth as in almost militant fashion, it charges along providing riveting riffs with a punky style of black metal.

It’s not similar to Darkthrone but these guys are clearly at the same feast, offering harrowing vocals, gargantuan thrashing riffs and that bony percussion which tends to rattle the temple. Just like Darkthrone, there is always that eye for detail as Bölzer emerges the listener with pitch black melody, akin to being swallowed by a peat bog.

The second track ‘Labyrinthian Graves’ is a cold, dank 12-minute masterpiece featuring some exceptional doom-laden passages and organic drumming which drives the mid-tempo monolith into the depths of the silt. Bölzer seem to fit so much into their sound without charging at any sort of hostile pace. In fact, it all feels so measured to the point that it just creeps in such a sinister fashion that you’ll be checking behind every door and under your bed before slumber.

A full-length exercise cannot come quick enough for fans of this cult act because Bölzer clearly have something extra special to offer, and there are many of us who will want to join them in their descent into madness.

Neil Arnold

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