Review by Felix on November 11, 2024.

It’s November and the life cycle of nature comes to its end again. Morning fog covers the land, the sun cannot be found at the ceiling and every day darkness gains more and more the upper hand against the light. In short, everything looks and feels like the fantastic artwork of Na Utrini. By the way, its title refers to “a desolate piece of land at the end of villages, between fields and forests, roads and marshlands, alienated and abandoned by common folk“ (at least this is what the promo tells us). If this is true, it is a perfect match between the artwork, name, and, yes, the musical content of the album.

CMPT already has the phenomenal Mrtvaja EP in their portfolio and the solid-to-good Krev I Pepeo also kicked up some dust. Now Na Utrini demonstrates that the one-man project does not run out of ideas. It contains a lot of variety without appearing torn because the songs have a common basis. It is the oppressive, atmosphere in which all life seems to be decaying, sick, and doomed to imminent death. Given this, it is clear that we get pure black metal – with an almost national-romantic touch from time to time, but this does not dilute the approach. Instead, it emphasizes the local scene's own strength and I see that as a plus point. Anyway, the opening title track with a length of nearly ten minutes wants to make a statement – and it does! A morbid riff, hypnotizing guitar lines, an almost melancholic melody fragment, and nearly celestial keyboard sounds in the background. This monument is an ear catcher of the finest art, on par with the killer tracks of Mrtvaja. Tomorrow I will immediately reserve a place for my grave at the local cemetery, which is exactly 9.5 minutes away from the funeral parlor. Then Na Utrini will be played on my last journey. It's just a shame that I won't live to see it.

'Kao Srp U Noći' has almost the same playtime and would be a good choice for my funeral as well. It is enriched with some sad lines of a folkloric wind instrument, but the electric guitars also offer absolutely great melody lines, which are characterized by thoughtfulness in the face of approaching death. The song has a kind of sacral mood and it is hardly possible to resist the spell that it casts upon the audience. Despite its slow tempo and even in view of the absence of breaks, this song is not a second too long.
Now it is the time for the most clever guys to combine: hypnotizing lines, calm tempo, no breaks, icy mood – this must be another Burzum rip-off! But that’s ridiculous. Of course, all black metal musicians have heard the classics of Varg and it is impossible to withstand their fascination completely. Nevertheless, the lone wolf from Serbia leaves his own signature here. He unleashes his fury in 'Oppidum Panuka' and he does not shy away from a non-metallic intermezzo, namely 'Campus De Maxond'. It’s a totally folkloric track without guitars, bass, and drums, maybe not absolutely necessary, but okay. I just wonder why the artist did not take it as the intro for 'Kao Srp U Noći', but this is probably due to the lyrical concept. Forgive me, I can only guess; to me, the Serbian language is a book with seven seals.

Tracks like the intense, blast beat including 'Mesećina' or the equally raging 'Crna voda' deliver an Eastern European blizzard of the coldest kind. 'U Raljama Košave' follows the same direction, even though it also presents some melodies that almost crystallize as filigree in the raging storm. Maybe this is the strongest and most impressive track of those who attack relentlessly. Finally, the unstoppable, rapid, and straight closer brings the album to a worthy end, inter alia due to a somewhat unusual outro which is based on individually echoing guitar tones. They demonstrate for the last time that Na Utrini can rely on a suitable, strong production. It is neither soulless nor too transparent, but well-balanced, and powerful and it lends the tracks a sublime touch whenever it is necessary. Perhaps the mix of 'Krev I Pepeo' offered one iota more cruelty, but that’s no problem at all.

So let me warn you at the end of this review: do not write your album-of-the-year list too soon. Na Utrini will be released four days before 2024 dies and it should appear frequently in the ranking of the best works… I look out of the window. It’s still November. I enjoy an almost perfect soundtrack for this season. Everything’s fine.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10