Malokarpatan: Slovakian Witchery

You find yourself in a cabin in a forgotten wood, and the grizzled wanderer across the fire tells stories about the dense, hushed forest outside your warm sanctuary. Through his bawdy, gruff guise, the stranger regales you with dark tales that seem incongruous with the world of technology and reason you inhabit. Under gleaming black eyes, the storyteller spellbinds you with captivating tales of the ancient forest god Pan, and his anachronistic coven of followers who perform meticulous, sometimes sadistic, rituals for power beyond the material world. This is a world of spirits, of a deity long since maligned by Christianity, of self-empowerment through reverence of the mystic natural world, and of frigid, unsettling darkness. As the traveler moves to leave the cabin for the pitch-black veil of night, you feel a bit nauseous – your heretofore unshakable belief in the logic of your reality disturbed by the conviction of the unforgettable figure – and as he walks out the mottled wooden door, you cannot help but notice under his heavy black robe a glimpse of hooves. The fire seems dimmer now… that must be the chill you feel.

If that introduction seems overwrought and out of place, then you have yet to listen to the newest output, Krupinské ohne, by the Slovakian black metal/heavy metal bards who are Malokarpatan — named after the mountains near which they live. The central thread connecting Malokarpatan to their blend of influences (namely fellow Eastern European black metal pioneers Master’s Hammer, with other legends such as Bathory and Mercyful Fate) is an overarching sense of atmosphere. This can be a difficult facet of art to describe, but it is necessary when it is so powerful and immediate as it is for Malokarpatan. The production is crisp; every instrument is clearly audible and the raspy vocals punctuate the music with confidence without overshadowing the instrumentation. With 5 songs spanning a sizable runtime just under 50 minutes, it should be evident that this is not a ‘singles’ album. As much as I love the utility of those kinds of albums for working out or brief listens, this is something to sit down and savor, preferably by engaging with the fascinating folklore each song extensively illustrates. With song titles that translate to, for example, “In Birchen Groves Near Babiná, The Netherworld Magnate Has Been Appearing To Us” and “From the Semen of the Hanged, a Magical Root Arises” (about the mandrake root, which had its time to shine in mainstream media in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), it is clear that the stories told are as revelatory as the musical motifs coloring them.

Of course, without the music to back it up, this album would only be an interesting look into a culture we typically see exclusively when whitewashed by Disney. Thankfully, the music is consistently brilliant. Just peering into the traditional instrumental setup at the foundation of their work, this is a band that knows how to write incredible blackened heavy metal. For the first 6 minutes of the album, it could almost pass as folky Black Sabbath-tinged doom, but then the speedy and catchy guitar melody kicks in over blast beats to remind the listener of the unmistakable freezing touch of black metal underlying the entire project. The prior comparisons made have been true of all Malokarpatan’s work, but in this album those influences can be traced even more specifically. The extensive use of folk instruments — even the unmistakable “bwoing” of a Jew’s harp 4 minutes into “From the Semen of the Hanged…” — are infused seamlessly over the black metal structure with such elegance that Bathory’s Viking opus Hammerheart (1990) immediately comes to mind. Immediately after that twangy interlude, the most beautiful guitar riff on the whole album gallops triumphantly into an ecstatic lead melody whose catharsis perfectly encapsulates the musical appeal of Malokarpatan’s ebb and flow. Every time I listen I find more of these moments of pure heavy metal muscle amidst the sylvan bliss and blackened frost, and am further awed. While it is to be enjoyed as a complete product, one can be assured that each song carries its own emotional release in this vein, with darkness giving way to beauty. It is a testament to the skill of the songwriters that there is a considerable amount of black metal, folk, and traditional heavy metal all over the album and yet it still seems too eclectic to consign to any of those labels individually.

Krupinské Ohne is a beautiful, yet brawny tribute to the blend of musical and cultural influences that have shaped its artists. While there are many specific references to past musical touchstones, what Malokarpatan have created is something that transcends any specific comparisons; Krupinské Ohne is truly unique and timeless. I highly encourage any fan of any kind of heavy and fast music to set aside the time to listen to what will undoubtedly be considered, to me at least, one of the best metal albums of the year. Even listeners who generally do not see themselves as metal fans should appreciate what is a distinctive journey into frosty, enchanted woods of the distant past. Malokarpatan proves the magick of their cultural heritage is alive, and still awe-inspiring.

Article by Tyler Harding