CoC : Znich - Adchuwanni Vyasny : Review

Znich - _Adchuwanni Vyasny_
by: Pedro Azevedo (2 out of 5)

Znich are from Belarus and play Slavonic folk metal. How about that for unusual? Wait, there's more: they sing in their native language, and everything on this demo tape is written using their Cyrillic alphabet. By now you're probably getting a feeling that this might be something quite special, different from the norm. Well, it is, and Znich (formerly a doom/death band) should certainly receive some credit for their unusual style -- in fact, you should add another mark to my rating if what I described so far sounds especially interesting to you. As for their music, a simple guitar line leads the way, the female vocals evolving around it rather repetitively -- and it is essentially through the female chanting that the folk element becomes more apparent, as the male vocals (ranging from clean to occasionally growled) and instrumental side are a bit more normal. Znich have been around for some time, having two previous releases to their name and many a live concert (not to mention numerous line-up changes), and all in all that tends to detract from the value of _Adchuwanni Vyasny_: it could have been a reasonably promising and somewhat daring demo from a young band, but given the experience Znich should have by now, one would expect something much more consistently interesting. The very prominent and peculiar female vocals are not to my liking, but at least Znich are trying to do something different from the norm; however, there is still great room for improvement.

Contact: Yuhnevich Sergey, Box 473 Minsk, 220047 Belarus

(article published 13/5/2001)