These Kiev boys describe their sound as black metal. Perhaps I'm hopelessly behind on my labels, but this thick, muscular sound is leagues past what I'll call "old school" black metal.

Barkasth Decaying (self-released)

Rather, there are time changes, chord progressions and some lovely gothic moments. The double-kick sound still permeates the drums, but there's a whole lot more going on here. This is a lot more like Cradle of Filth and Between the Buried and Me, which took black metal elements and fused them with the goth and hardcore sounds that were big in the extreme sound of the time.

And boy, do these songs go on, though I didn't notice until I checked. Barkasth is not interminable, but rather the opposite. I felt the rush from beginning to end.

Perhaps it helps to be familiar with Slavic tongues to be able to pronounce the name of the band (I haven't been able to do it the same way twice yet). Doesn't matter to me. For those who care, the vocals are in English and easily comprehensible. The music is spectacular, a symphony of noise, pain and power. Some of the best stuff I've heard this year.

Jon Worley