Petrified Breath of Hope

I often find it either intriguing, or downright hilarious when bands coming from countries dealt the short side of the stick during the war choose to align themselves with Nazi imagery. It's true that Ohtar's mission statement seems to be more about general Aryan hegemony and anti-semetic beliefs rather than an upholding of der fuhrer, but all the same, this Polish band makes no attempt to distance themselves from that sort of commentary. Regardless, what it comes down to in the end is whether or not Ohtar can deliver good black metal, and they certainly can. Arguably their best known album, 'Petrified Breath Of Hope' seeks to emulate rather than innovate, but black metal fans will find some worthy aggression spurring forth from this duo.

If Ohtar stands out in any way to me, it may actually be the production, which sounds beefier and less treble-dominant than a great many like-minded black metal acts. The songwriting helps deliver this point across as well, skirting away from the tremolo worship in exchange for more conventional metal riffs. These differences are only somewhat noticeable in the final result however, and in the end, 'Petrified Breath Of Hope' makes for a slightly above average black metal album. Necro's vocals may be the most powerful aspect of this sound; he does not sound distinctive, but maintains a rich sense of aggression in his rasp.

Instrumentally, 'Petrified Breath Of Hope' is made a little more interesting by aspects of the songwriting that diverge from the black metal canon. Things such as an acoustic moment during the opening track 'Poison Me, Samaritan' or a dramatic intro to the highlight 'Fog Imbued With The Smell Of Death' all help to set Ohtar apart from the truly mediocre. Make no mistake however, generic raw black metal is the meat and bones of 'Petrified Breath Of Hope', and as a result, it's easy to become bored for someone who has heard this more aggressive slant of the genre before. It's an above average record when you consider the legions of bland filler out there, but this isn't quite enough to make me a fan of Ohtar.

Having a dead Jew on the cover of your album is a pretty fucking clear statement of intent, though the music it brings to mind is probably a great deal less... let's say 'articulate' than Ohtar's 'Petrified Breath Of Hope' ends up being. One of that newish breed of melodic NSBM artists, Ohtar plays a riff-based and sorrowful variety of black metal that just happens to have an affinity for the swastika. The more outward elements typical of NSBM- influences from folk or RAC, ultra-raw production, questionable instrumental skill- aren't really present, so I'd say this is an album that would appeal to a lot of melodic black metal fans. You know, if there weren't a fucking dead Jew on the cover.

I have to say, this is a very solid album all around, though it's not doing anything particularly new. This release entirely relies on its riffs to carry it, and drums and vocals are certainly just accessories used to support the central melodies, which are extremely clear and almost wholly lacking in dissonance or atonality. The guitars are articulate and tremolo-based with the occasional set of misty chords or clean passage thrown in for variation. The ragged, gnarled scream of the vocals (Vikernes-like) helps accentuate the foggy and cold guitar tone with an extra level of abrasion while the drums mostly click away in the background, content to keep pace for the rest of the music. An occasional passage of rolling viking-style triplet rhythms pops up to provide variation, and the song structures are very much based on steady buildups and breakdowns of tension provided by these variations in rhythm.

This music succeeds through how professionally it's composed compared to the majority of NSBM. The relatively solid production and playing makes for an easier listen than most, which helps the songs be heard as they should. The band has a great sense of dynamics and pacing; clean guitar passages appear where they should instead of fore the hell of it, variations in tempo and rhythm are established neatly and to the benefit of the songs' individual dramas, and the riffs provide a definite atmosphere of sorrow and chaos. Without riffs as strong as these- melodic yet raw and emotional- this album wouldn't be a tenth of the success as it is. Granted, it makes the music a little bit single-minded, but the compositional skills are solid enough that you'll mostly overlook the relative thinness of the musical ideas on display.

I wouldn't call this particularly remarkable, but it's certainly an enjoyable listen for an album with a dead Jew on the cover. Those who enjoy the more melodic yet still abrasive varieties of black metal should check this out; it has just enough uniqueness in its style and professionalism to capture your attention for its running time and stick to your mind afterwards.

Ohtar is one of the best and most extreme Polish black metal bands that were formed in the mid 90s. Right from the beginning they have played their own brand of hateful and extreme yet melancholic black metal. In Necro Ohtar also have one of the best vocalists in the genre. Not only is his style instantly recognisable, he is also able to convey anger and sadness convincingly. Necro’s black metal vocals aren’t that high pitched and actually sound all the more powerful for that reason. Aside from the black metal vocals Necro also uses some growls to spice things up and these work well too. For this album the band have managed to get quite a powerful sound. If you’re looking for that thin and distorted all-treble-no-bass type of black metal sound, “Petrified Breath of Hope” will not fulfil your demands. Speaking of bass, it is very prominent here – practically just as loud as the guitars.

Musically I’d describe “Petrified Breath of Hope” as being pretty much in the vein of Thor’s Hammer’s “Three Weeds from the Same Root” mixed with the good old Ohtar style, i.e. furious yet with some melodic riffs as well. These melodic riffs are unconventional and morbid though, no “melodeath niceness” can be found in them. Unlike Thor’s Hammer, Ohtar do not use any synths. As a whole, the material on this album is a bit more advanced and varied than on previous releases but do not worry, this hasn’t affected the music negatively. The music emits strong vibes of intolerance and non-compromise and makes it clear that good black metal is still being made in the underground if one only bothers to look for it. Beside the fast parts Ohtar also slows down every now and then to give us some calm clean guitar parts. Tracks like “Poison Me Samaritan”, “Fog Imbued with the Smell of Death” and “Insomnia” make good use of clean guitar parts, as these add a tranquil yet dark atmosphere to the proceedings.

The opening riff of “Elite? Dust (Sometime...)” reminds me of one of Ohtar’s best songs ever, “Song of War”, and the same riff also occurs later in the song. The lyrics of the track in question show that Necro still holds his politically incorrect views - the empire of white power is still on his mind. The steady mid-tempo the track is played in only accentuates its power. “Honour and Faithfullness” is another catchy track. It starts off with the heaviest riff on the album and also contains some manic fast parts as well as those morbid melodies I spoke of earlier. “Light Manacled in Shackles of Ice” is the most aggressive track with its relentless speed and Necro screaming out his hatred as if he were possessed. The last chord of “Insomnia” has barely faded before the title track already begins. It is an instrumental guitar piece, which continues the Ohtar tradition of placing one guitar instrumental on every release (the only exception so far being “When I Cut the Throat”). As I said, if you’re a fan of Capricornus/Thor’s Hammer and haven’t checked this band out yet, now is the time to do so. In general “Petrified Breath of Hope” will satisfy everyone who demands his or her hateful black metal with a capital H.