Review by Vladimir on March 6, 2023.

Inside the cold depths of Finland’s caves, dwells an unknown vampiric evil bearing the name of Arnaut Pavle. Arnaut Pavle is an anonymous black metal band from Finland, which was named after a Serbian hajduk (militiaman) who was believed to have become a vampire after his death circa 1726, initiating an epidemic of supposed vampirism that killed at least 16 people in his native village in Serbia. This band just recently released its second full-length album titled Transylvanian Glare on January 20th 2023, via the label Amor Fati Productions on 12” vinyl and digitally via Mystískaos. Let’s have a closer glare at this bastard son of Transylvanian blood.

The music of Arnaut Pavle is raw vampiric black metal filled with primitive energy, dark and cold as night. While listening to Transylvanian Glare, you will come across riffs that are either catchy tremolo riffing, open string riffs or “punkish” metal riffs, along with distorted bass guitar, drums which either go “Transilvanian Hunger” or d-beat drumming and harsh raspy vocals. The album pretty much starts out that way, no introduction necessary just going straight into black metal from the very beginning, with all of the aforementioned traits. I must say that upon listening, I really liked how the riffs are arranged with such certainty, knowing when to go fast with primitive aggression and when to slow everything to build the tension with atmosphere. The harsh vocals are pretty wicked with its Nocturno Culto style that along with the riffs lean a lot on the Darkthrone side. From the very moment I started listening to Transylvanian Glare, I was immediately hypnotized with atmosphere and sucked into the catchiness of the music. I must say that the songwriting is pure and on point, where every bit of music matters and pretty much no song disappoints. It’s truly a rare case of “All killer, no filler” moments, and given the fact that this is Finnish black metal, it should come as no surprise that it’s so good. The sound production is raw but does its job well to help the guitar sound create such energy that goes hand in hand with the echoing harsh vocals and d-beat/Darkthrone drums.

Arnaut Pavle is definitely not a bullshit act, it’s pure, cold and dark as night. While listening to this album, I think that Arnaut Pavle may be possessing that piece of DNA that a lot black metal bands are missing to get things right with their music. There is a bit of everything to be heard from this album that will certainly please your ears, especially if you’re a huge fan of underground black metal acts. The way the music radiates that Transylvanian vampiric energy is one of the reasons why I believe Arnaut Pavle’s style is ideal for fans of Darkthrone, Occvlta, Tormentor, Aura Noir and Funeral Fog. Check out Transylvanian Glare, you definitely won’t be disappointed!

Rating: 9 out of 10