Dvota - Antichiromantia (2022)
By Flork (contact)
You’ve got to give Dvota a lot of credit – they’ve developed a very original style that is heard from the outset. Right off the bat, I’m sucked into a vortex of hauntingly sinister sounds that spirals almost endlessly into a continual, yet somewhat controlled tunnel of chaos. I don’t have much info on Dvota, other than they are a progressive/death/groove metal band from Bratislava. But who cares? The less one knows, the more which is left to be desired. Like the music.
The first three tracks, Tarot, N.M.B., and Kardioplegia are all fast-paced compositions with high-quality mastering and production. All the instruments and vocals are surprisingly played by just two artists, Pekka and Lucas, who formed in 2022 and released Antichiromantia in June, 2022. I did hear spurts of female vocals from time to time that lend to the dramatic effects of the overall ambience. But then things slow down a tad with oKKo, or at least during its intro. Of course, it bounces back with a sonic battery of guitar and drums, much like an assault to the senses. And this continues with Nebslog, Enfant Terrible, and the final track Tyresta, where I’m led to think that I may be listening to jazz guitar at first, however, in the end, I know that my ears have deceived me. The song takes a deep turn towards the abyss, but then rises high with a fury of drums and heavy riffs on the guitar and bass. As with the song, the album ends beautifully, almost as if it found light at the end of the tunnel.
Antichiromantia is by far one of the best death metal albums I’ve heard so far in 2022. As I wrote at the beginning, they have a sound that is very original and set apart from other groups in the genre(s), and I think this is more due to their careful attention they pay to composing, rather than their musical talents or studio production (both of which are top-notch as well). I mean, each track is so original and cool that I could give this album heavy rotation on a playlist.
For a debut album, Antichiromantia gets a ten out of ten, or a at least a 5-star rating. The album is about 37 minutes in length and can be purchased digitally for EUR 4.99 (or more, whatever that’s supposed to mean) from the bandcamp.com website.
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