ZHRINE, a band originated from the icy cold Iceland, may not familiar to the most fans. The band is nothing else rather than the blackened death metal band Gone Postal, who changed their name last year. Struggling to complete their last demo, named “Unortheta” too, the band returns to finish what has been trying to do for years; completing “Unortheta” along with Season of Mist on their side.
ZHRINE urges to describe the record as a blackened death metal one, but, honestly, it sounds just like an original black metal record to me. With eyes on the brutality of the world, the band creates an aggressive record, with an ambient abyss to surround its music. The guitars orchestrate the darkness and the heavy, blackened drumming is considered to be the roots the rhythm is about to grasp upon. The vocals can either be brutal and deep, in a death metal style or screaming and fatal.
‘The Syringe Dance’ includes some extremely powerful riffs in it, with hot break-downs too. Other songs share the same approach too, having significant riffs in order to create diversity. Generally, ZHRINE rely on riffs a bit more than other black metal bands who just want to pass a few minutes of music as extremely as it can get. Zhrine worked on the songs, worked on the lyrics, creating coherence between each song. In ‘World’ for instance, the band expresses its music with a somehow post-black way, with ambient melodies and passionate but dark emotions.
ZHRINE did not want to tangle the structure of ‘Unortheta’. The sound sounds modern, dark, cold. Percussions mix well with the other instruments, they blend together toο well. While the record does not lack of aggression, most of the riffs are emphasizing in the addictive emotion of stagnation which is often delivered by many black metal bands, especially of those associated with depressive black metal, doom or post-black.
If there is something that would convince anyone to dig into ‘Unortheta’, that would be its substance. It is a record doomed to stay alive within time, offering what black metal is obliged to be; innovative, sharp as a knife, cold as snow. After all, Zhrine made a great comeback and they deserve any credit.
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