Petrale – Vrh

The many different avenues of black metal are never lacking nowadays. For several years now, it has been the case that any aspiring black metal artist could very well carve out their own corner of the already greatly diversified style should they simply have the capacity to bring something new to the sound or, at the very least, really steep their craft with their own unique flavors to truly the performance a personal one that no one else could hope to replicate. For years now, Petrale has been a name that does nothing but justice for such a concept. With every record, the band has become more and more interesting with time, and the honing of the band’s sound allows for an even deadlier creation with each successive release, but it’s with its sixth album in five years that Petrale has made it’s most impactful performance yet.

It’s not uncommon for a band to have some sort of arbitrary tagline to go along with the album whether it simply sounds cool or it resonates with the album’s theme. When it came to “Vrh”, however, Petrale’s choice certainly does fit almost too well: “The abyss is about to vomit. High ground proves the best view of the spectacle”. In every way, that gives you more than enough of a glimpse as to precisely what kind of effort anyone who steps foot into these nine tracks of a special, personal hell will subject themselves to. There is so much emotion that ranges all the way from glorious, uncensored catharsis to primal rage fuelled by impassioned disgust with it all being so powerful and compelling right from the start that it makes for a hell of a shock if you’re not ready for it, and there really isn’t much that can prepare you for all that Petrale lets loose on this album. Black metal has never been a style for any mentioned band to turn away from themes of rage, disgust, frustration, or simply cutting loose purely in the name of the darkest form of catharsis, but there really is something special about all that went into “Vrh”. The absolute menagerie of off-putting melodies that pull you further into the very expulsion of the void that Petrale gives us a front seat to make for a wondrous sight to behold as they keep us planted right in place for the very whole of the record while it’s through atmospheres and deep, dense passages that Petrale shows us just how multi-faceted it is right from the very beginning with the utter defiance of the closing moments of “Vrh” giving us what has got to be the most perfect representation of what this band has always been since the start with there being no room left for doubt anymore.

In every way, hearing this record is to hear the very soul and suffering of Petrale. More than plenty of names throughout the history of black metal have strived to bring forth such sensations with their own records to varying degrees of success, but there are few that can compare or even come close to what Petrale accomplishes in these 51 minutes. Nine tracks of deep cutting black metal, I scoff at anyone who would dare say they come through the other side of “Vrh” unchanged or untouched by all that was executed.

LISTEN to “Vrh” on Bandcamp here.

Petrale does not have any sort of social media platform that I could find, so, please, follow Petrale on Bandcamp in order to stay up-to-date on any new material that the band puts out in the future.