Review by Vladimir on April 9, 2024.

It’s time for some ritualistic black/thrash/speed metal from Poland, as I dive into the world of witchcraft with the band Waroath and their EP Damnacje, released on April 30th, 2023 via the label Demented Omen Of Masochism.

From the very get-go, Waroath starts ripping and tearing with their blackened thrash/speed metal with filthy and nasty riffing, harsh vocals, blast beats and d-beats, which all around come off as expected and usual but engaging nonetheless. Musically it switches back and forth between primarily black metal elements and the speed/thrash metal moments, while also throwing in some epic warrior-like singing vocals to make things a little bit more interesting. The only exception in terms of the overall musical output is the final track 'Krwawa Chwałą Wilczego Podmuchu' which is the only track on this EP that heads for a slower mid-tempo and atmospheric approach, breaking away from the established elements of the previous three songs.

The songwriting is very standard, keeping the same pattern throughout the entire EP while maintaining some dynamics in the songs. Although it is engaging, it doesn’t really have any riffs or choruses that highly compliment a song and contribute to be more outstanding, which comes off a bit lackluster and it’s a bit of a shame because I always look for something to grasp in many speed and thrash metal influenced black metal bands. I think that the direction they are going for is on the right path, however not nearly as good as it should be, because it still makes it look like a very rocky and bumpy road that at times can leave you feeling uneven. The problem why this EP falls victim to being sort of incomplete probably has to do with the fact that the bounding back and forth with standard black metal and the more thrash/speed metal-oriented direction takes away the focus, and it doesn’t make the dynamics of the song feel balanced and effective as it should be. Production-wise, the EP has a very raw and unpolished sound that does justice to the musical output of Waroath, and although it sounds quite dirty, it doesn’t make the guitars and drums sound thinner.

Overall, this EP isn’t bad by any means, it’s still worth a shot and it’s got just enough stuff worth listening, but I personally think that it feels very unbalanced and not quite fulfilling the standards. I hope that whatever Waroath decides to do in the future will be much sharper and stronger, and I believe that they can easily outmatch all the efforts they put into making of this EP.

Rating: 6.9 out of 10