Genre: Black metal
Origin: Czech Republic
Released: 2007
Website: Silva Nigra
Label: Ravenheart Productions, Ashen Productions
Uploaded: 30.04.08

This is the fourth album by Silva Nigra, but this is my first encounter with them. At a first glance my emotions towards actually pressing play gets a bit awkward, due to the kind of crude-looking artwork. It looks a bit juvenile, but then again I suppose it gives it a demo-vibe from the old days.
After a somewhat boring ambient intro (I’m not much for ambience) the frenetic and raw black metal sets off in a burling rampage. The drumming is mainly at a pretty fast-forward tempo, with the occasional slowing down. At times the slow parts aren’t so successful, as the music loses a bit of its brutality, but for most of the time it’s just a full-on onslaught. The guitar leads carry the vibe of the old Swedish school of black metal, adding a melodic edge that at sometimes even remind me of some old school death metal bands (once again in the Swedish vein). But don’t worry, this is without a doubt black metal, and no black/death mixture. The very harsh, raspy vocals of Ulvberth sets this right into place as an eastern European band, as the lyrics in their native tongue are spewed forth in a manner that can only be just that – a pissed off Czech dude (or maybe even a Polish lad) screaming his lungs out in a rampage of anger. The vocals definitely adds a huge load of brutality and rawness.
The production is fairly typical for black metal; not clean and crisp, but rather harsh, without stepping over the line to sound just sucky. Despite some moments lacking my fist in the air this is a damn good album, and one I’d definitely recommend to fans of somewhat melodic, yet raw, black metal.

Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Tok
03. Legenda
04. Na památku vecí ztracených
05. Neodpustil
06. Interlude
07. Epocha
08. Citadela
09. Prostoupen vyšší formou uvedomení (filozofie akt II.)
10. Matka nemoc
11. Outro