 |
| #FOR FANS OF: Pagan Black |
The eastern lands of Europe have always been a great niche for excellent black metal. The combination of an equally soulful and aggressive subgenre with rich folklore and the fiery Slavic character has created excellent projects whose music is highly appreciated by fans.
Ukraine is certainly a land where great bands have appeared over the years, and fortunately the arrival of new gems seems to remain active. Vintregal is the name of this new beast, a very obscure project as we don’t know the names or number of members. In any case, the music itself speaks volumes, and the result is the excellent debut EP entitled 'Назустріч Останньому Світанку | Towards the Last Dawn'. Vintregal plays very enjoyable pagan black metal where rudeness, melody, and atmosphere coexist with great balance. Considering that this is a debut effort, the production is remarkably solid. It tends to be a bit raw, but vocals and instruments are perfectly distinguishable, and the sound is overall powerful and clean enough.
Pace-wise, the structures flow very naturally between fast and furious parts, creating very enjoyable pieces. Acoustic-style guitars and occasional keys create a great mysterious atmosphere that fits perfectly with the aggressive vocals and relentless guitars. The EP opener "Wolf’s Heart" is a perfect example of this tasteful use. In five minutes, all these elements are perfectly combined. The band also seems to be inspired when composing melodic guitar parts. There is a nice number of catchy melodies that fans will enjoy, as we can appreciate in the great composition "Steadfastness," for example. The atmospheric essence of Vintregal appears in its full glory in the EP closer "Sons of Winter," where keys have a majestic touch, helping to create the most epic track of this short yet fruitful release. It’s great to see once again how good this project is when it wants to combine fury and atmosphere. This is probably my favourite song and a reminder that this project should add more keys if they are as good as these.
Vintregal definitely appears to be a great addition to the pagan black metal scene, and I am reasonably hyped about a future full-length where this project should show all its potential. (Alain González Artola)
(Self - 2026)
Score: 82