Review by Felix on January 7, 2020.

The dudes of The Stone hail from Serbia. They have already proven their stamina and their musical skills, but fortunately, they do not see a reason to call it a day. Quite the opposite, these dark creatures are not lazy at all. Teatar Apsurda is their eighth full-length within a period of 15 years. Not to mention their EPs and splits. Thus, they are a reliable partner of their fans in terms of quantity. But what about the quality of their new effort?

First of all, Teatar Apsurda meets the essential conditions. This means that the pretty long tracks - average duration: seven minutes - are obviously written by experienced musicians who know their trade. The compositions shine with coherent designs and a natural flow. I cannot identify any kind of major flaw with regard to the song-writing and the same goes for the production which puts the steely guitars in the foreground. The Stone present a dense, massive and powerful mix. It lends the individual tracks a profound depth and avoids any form of dullness while spreading dark vibrations. Finally, the visual component also gives no reason to lament. The stylish artwork indicates the genre in a very good way. It is definitely better than Urn's ejaculation cover of "Soul Destroyers", but I admit that this does not mean much... I just wanted to illustrate the wide range of artworks and Teatar Apsurda does not need to fear any comparison.

Perhaps the energetic three-piece should have taken a closer look at the individuality of their tracks. The single pieces have a tendency towards uniformity. This does not mean that the songs bore the listener. The Stone play black metal and they respect the guidelines of the genre. It therefore comes as no surprise that they keep firing full blast. Nevertheless, after more than 30 minutes of unleashed belligerence, the spooky end of "Ja, car i bog" is a welcome change. Doubtlessly, the album could have a more dramatic and more dynamic appearance, but the group prefers to present relatively similar songs. This does not lead to a monotonous work, by far not! Yet this approach leaves room for optimization. In other words, the permanent intensity is at the expense of tension. On the other hand, this approach can be seen as a trademark of the headstrong band and who am I to blame the artists for this way of proceeding?

Let's pick out two tracks in order to describe the music more detailed. The opener needs no intro, The Stone attack right from the beginning. The velocity is high, the guitars create a wall of sound and some apocalyptic tones are also included. In spite of its opulent format, "Gavranova" is comparatively straight. The lead vocalist plays the demon successfully and rarely integrated back vocals add a solemn touch. Really catchy lines are missing, but black metal was not invented in order to pester the world with earworms. Misanthropy and negativity are more important factors and The Stone do not hesitate to offer them. The title track starts with siren-like guitars and tremendous riffing, the very fast drumming drives the track forward and horrific instrumental sections seem to reflect the aura of the dark Serbian woods at night. One thing is for sure, The Stone have integrity, dedication and authenticity in their portfolio and their grasp for hostile harmonies is well connected with their musical maturity. The enthusiastic guys of the Serbian black metal community can be proud of its flagship. Given this situation, the next 15 years (eight albums) can be tackled.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10