Review by Norbert on January 26, 2026.

I'll freely admit that Bydgoszcz's Büddah's earlier material didn't make much of an impression on me – just solid, old-school death/thrash (with an emphasis on thrash) with a black metal overtone, technically sound, but lacking the spark that would keep me coming back. The 2022 EP, "The Curse Of Ferrius," and the live mini-album, "Resurrection Clarity," released two years later, showcased a band deeply rooted in classical music, playing with heart, yet without a clearly defined identity. But when I saw the cover of their debut full-length album, "Amyotrophy," just before the end of last year, with a release date set for January 30th via Godz Ov War Productions, a quick "ooh!" popped into my head. This image, reminiscent of the dark visions of Beksiński, Wałkuski, Szynkarczuk, and Lewandowski, promised something much deeper than just another serving of old-school brawl. And indeed, Büddah's debut LP is a surprising album at almost every turn.

A band that previously presented itself as adept reproducers of metal clichés suddenly reveals itself as a much more conscious, searching, and—I'm not afraid of the word—ambitious entity. From the very first bars of the album's opening track, "Amyotrophy I," it's clear that this isn't a more or less random collection of riffs, but a thoughtful, multi-layered narrative in which technical death metal blends with progressive narrative, thrash motorics, occasional doom reverie, and an almost mystical space. This spirituality, somewhat reminiscent of Chuck Schuldiner's later years, perfectly suits the band's name—Büddah, a tongue-in-cheek Budda—with an H at the end to enhance the logo's visual appeal and an umlaut for a metal edge—but a Budda nonetheless, who, instead of enlightenment through silence, proposes enlightenment through dissonance, tension, and constant change.

Musically, the album is dense, at times almost overloaded with ideas, but it's this very excess that builds its character – echoes of Pestilence from the "Testimony Of The Ancients" era, and the progressive eras of Death, Cynic, and Atheist, can be heard here, but never as mindless homage. Büddah manages to weave these influences into something of their own, and the oriental interlude "Law Of The Snake" and the acoustic, breathy passages only deepen the impression of an album that demands time and concentration. The vocals are also engaging – the expression changes with the music, sometimes attacking with a raw death metal roar, other times retreating, allowing the instruments to speak more.

And it's precisely here, in this instrumental freedom, that the only flaw in the almost perfect picture appears. I like albums where the bass is prominent (I like it even more when it's a fretless bass), but on "Amyotrophy," I sometimes feel like the band tries to emphasize it a little too often. The bass solo in the very first track and the recurring, long, spacious passages reminiscent of Opeth—though atmospheric and technically impressive—sometimes go on a hair's breadth too long and feel a bit overdone, as if the musicians were constantly trying to reassure the listener of the breadth of their inspirations. It's a minor detail, a fly in the ointment—perhaps not an objective error at all, but merely my personal oversensitivity—but if Büddah reins in these ambitions a bit on their next release, the effect could be downright stunning. "Amyotrophy" is a very mature, bold, and unconventional album, demonstrating a huge leap in quality compared to their previous releases. It's an album that reveals new layers with each listen—like a meditation in the noise, a spiritual quest driven by distorted guitars and broken rhythms. And since I'm completely non-religious, I'm even more amused by the thought that if they perfect this balance on their next album, who knows—maybe in the autumn of my life I'll decide to convert to Buddhism. In the version with ü, of course.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10