CoC : Lucifugum - Involtation : Review

Lucifugum - _Involtation_
(Propaganda, 2006)
by: Quentin Kalis (8 out of 10)

In contrast to the heathen nationalism that Ukrainian black metal has come to epitomise for better or for worse, Lucifugum are an entrant to the grimly necro school. The rawness of this record actually came as a surprise, as the only other material I have heard from this prolific project was 2003's _...Back to Chopped Down Roots_, which possessed a typically lucid Slavic black metal production, and since then they have adopted a looser, more necro feel. I am not sure whether this is a positive development; on the one hand, I prefer _...BtCDR_, yet on the other there are so many bands from their homeland with a similar production, that hearing a raw Slavic act is a welcome break from the norm. There is a typically loose feel, but I get the strong feeling that it is exaggerated -- this is not the raw sound of a teenager still learning to play in his parent's basement, but rather of a sufficiently skilled band who have deliberately opted for a rawer version in order to realise their vision. (I can't help but wonder whether a desire to distance themselves from the burgeoning Ukrainian NSBM scene was a consideration.)

Ukraine (and neighbouring Russia) may be a hotbed of NSBM, but as Forgot and Black Death prove, there is more to Slavic metal than ancestor worship, and this a fine example of the grimmer undercurrent.

Contact: http://propaganda666.com

(article published 17/4/2007)