AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ALL MY SINS – “ZOV IZ MAGLE”

 

(We present the premiere of a new two-song EP by the Serbian duo All My Sins, which is now available on Bandcamp, preceded by a review of the release by Andy Synn.)

 

There are some people out there who would have you believe that there are only really two types of bands – “innovators” and “imitators”.

But this is a vast, and misleading, over-simplification of how things really are.

The truth of the matter is that most bands will never be the next Mayhem/Opeth/Meshuggah… or whoever… but that doesn’t mean their music doesn’t have value.

In fact I’d contend that it’s more important to be distinctive, rather than “innovative”, in your chosen field, and that the willingness and ability to truly pour your heart and soul into your music, to twist and tweak established facets and features into something that truly represents your vision, is the most vital thing of all.

 

 

To whit, while no-one would describe the music of Black Metal mystics All My Sins as particularly “innovative”… even thinking that way is missing the point entirely.

Because the Serbian duo aren’t trying to innovate here. What they’re trying to do is express themselves, to the very best of their abilities, and to communicate something both inescapably real and harrowingly visceral, where the message is the medium, and the medium is the message.

Without spoiling the experience for you, suffice it to say that the title-track of this release “Zov iz Magle” (which will also appear on the band’s upcoming album Pra Sila – Vukov Totem) is a near-perfect distillation of everything which makes Black Metal so special and distinctive as a genre, paying tribute to both the band’s peers and their forebears – fans of Mgła, Uada, Dissection, etc., should find a lot to love here – without simply imitating what’s gone before.

By contrast “Sa Dna”, which is exclusive to this release, goes for a much gloomier, much more gothic, approach, one that’s more Sólstafir than Satyricon, driven by a series of chiming, crystal-clear notes, moody, wandering bass-lines, and sombre, simmering chords, and which only introduces the more overtly blackened elements of the band’s sound as the track builds towards crescendo.

But while these songs between them provide a mix of both familiar and more unorthodox elements, it’s the manner in which they’re arranged, the clever ways in which All My Sins have refined every riff, moulded every melody, and burnished every blastbeat, which really gives them their own distinct sense of character and identity.

So give Zov iz Magle a listen below as soon as you can. And keep your eyes open for the band’s debut album later in the year… I have a feeling it’s going to be a real humdinger.

 

Download at Bandcamp:
https://vukovtotem.bandcamp.com

All My Sins on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/allmysins/