Review by J.C. on January 20, 2026.

I'm a big fan of the Russian doom metal band Mental Home, and "Black Art" album means a lot to me. From the first time I heard it, it has been my favorite doom metal album. In every way, it is perfect for me.

As you can see from the strange song titles, what the band is trying to express is mostly Slavic paganism. Gamayun and Marena, as well as Perun and Svarog, appear in the lyrics; all are important deities of Slavic mythology. The lyrical style is poetic, and vocalist Sergey Dmitriev uses a variety of vocals in singing these lyrics. The extreme growl only appears in some climax passages. Most of the time, there is a singing style between a clear voice and an extreme voice; sometimes it is an angry cry without a melody, sometimes it is in line with the melody of the electric guitar, but not exactly the same. In the quiet passages that create the atmosphere, Sergey Dmitriev uses a mentally ill man's spoken voice, often accompanied by well-written keyboards and pianos, successfully expressing a mysterious and beautiful feeling. Whispers appear in the song 'Winter Art', but it should be noted that they have nothing to do with Sergey Dmitriev, but the keyboardist Maiden (Smirnoff).

Compared to the previous album "Vale", most of the song structures are simplified, but the details are still rich. Details are very important, especially for an album like this that is like a work of art. The electric guitar tone is heavy enough, the speed is slightly faster than the previous album "Vale", and the melody is mostly passionate, heavy, and tragic, with the wildness of Russian people, and some places have some ornamental notes or exaggerated sound effects. Although many riffs are repetitive, the band has done a good job of making minor changes to keep the songs from being boring. The bass is deep and solid, becoming noticeable in several places, and not like the electric guitar riff (like the verse part of the song 'The Plague Omen'). The drums work well with the electric guitar riff, and some places have their own ideas, which are very good. The most detailed contribution was made by Smirnoff's keyboard, a very outstanding player, although the fact that he replaced the former keyboardist Roman Povarov may have something to do with the latter's later tragedy. The keyboards are multi-layered, mostly organ and piano tones, and in the intro of the song 'Silent Remembrance', Smirnoff experiments with some different keyboard tones, which are novel and surprising. Smirnoff has a deep classical accomplishment, and his keyboards are very nice and fit the album's dark and beautiful atmosphere. The whole album is gorgeous, the keyboards are very complicated, and even the most inconspicuous corners are full of organ tones with dynamics and extensions, mostly warm like the river or moonlight, playing a very important role in creating the atmosphere of the whole album (which also leads to most of the songs not being very suitable for live performances, haha). Guest singer Emily Saaen contributed an outstanding female voice on the songs 'Into The Realms Of Marena' and 'On A Hand Of The Universe'. There are also experimental sound effects added, such as the wind after the intro of 'Under The Wing (Of Gamayun)'; Russian folk musics at in the beginning of 'Into The Realms Of Marena', and the scream at the end; The noise at the end of 'On A Hand Of The Universe'; The bird calls and water sounds at the end of 'Tides Of Time'. These sound effects add to the album's progressive feel and remind me of Pink Floyd's similar attempt in "The Dark Side Of The Moon'.

In terms of composition, the level of the whole album is also superb. The most impressive electric guitar motives are probably written in different forms of gypsy modes (such as the songs 'Pagan Freedom' and 'On A Hand Of The Universe'), giving a passionate and sad listening sensation that fits well with the theme of Slavic pagan metal, considering that this music mode is very popular in Eastern Europe. There are also melodies written in harmonic modes (such as the first electric guitar motive of 'Under The Wing (Of Gamayun)') or natural modes (such as the first electric guitar melody of 'Into The Realms Of Marena'). Despite the use of many different modes, the whole album has a feeling of wholeness; all song's style is passionate, sad, gorgeous, dark, and beautiful.

Some of the standout songs include Into the 'Realms Of Marena', where the band expresses their admiration and love for Marena, the goddess of death, using experimental samples, female vocals, symphonic keyboards, and wicked and beautiful guitar melodies. There is also the beautiful chorus of 'The Plague Omen', followed by Sergey Dmitriev's narrative monologue; 'In The Shades Of Inspiration', a classicized dark piano with keyboards like ocean tides; 'Pagan Freedom' passionate and tragic heroic melody with exciting keyboards. The last song 'Tides Of Time', has several beautiful piano passages (including a double piano counterpoint section). I don't want to belittle any of the tracks, because every song on the album is amazing and together make a perfect "Black Art".

Overall, this is an outstanding gothic doom metal album (or Dark Metal as some reviews mention), it is gorgeous and dark, passionate and calm, cold yet warm, loss and hope (like Halley's Comet streaking across the sky on the album cover). This is music that belongs to the night, and if listened to in the evening, it can soothe the inner pain, calm the most hysterical people, and help them enter a good sleep. Recommend this album to fans of Radigost, Shroud Of Bereavement, and Dissolving Of Prodigy.

Rating: 9.6 out of 10