Malokarpatan – Vertumnus Caesar 12” LP

Name: Malokarpatan - Vertumnus Caesar 12'' LP
SKU: 21366
Price: 27.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

This album has tons of oldschool heavy metal moments which shine all throughout, the best examples being tracks ‘Vovnútri Chlácholivého útočišta Kunstkamru’ and ‘Mnohoraké útrapy Milostpána Kelleyho’, where the riffs and guitar solos contain strong New Wave of British Heavy Metal influences. These 80’s heavy metal influences were wonderfully combined with the first wave black metal elements of bands like Master’s Hammer and Root, which is indeed the signature sound of Malokarpatan that they wonderfully crafted. On top of that, even the stylish album cover art with alchemist apparatus reminds me of something that could have very easily been used for a Master’s Hammer album. Speaking of the overall presentation of this album, the band expands their mythology with an interesting concept revolving around the mysterious life of Emperor Rudolf II, infamous for his involvement in the esoteric arts. The sound production for this Vertumnus Caesar is fantastic, providing perfect balance between modern and 80’s heavy metal production. I think that Olof Wikstrand obviously understood the task of mixing this album and he certainly did not fail the assignment he took with great responsibility.

Description

Somewhere around autumn last year, when my friend and I were fanboying and discussing extreme metal bands from Eastern bloc countries such as Tormentor, Root, Master’s Hammer, Kat etc., he introduced me to a Slovakian heavy/black metal band Malokarpatan. The band is very particular for its lyrical themes of Slovak folklore and witchcraft, while their dark heavy metal music is a wonderful blend of oldschool heavy metal and first wave black metal, a cross mix between Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, Master’s Hammer and Motorhead. Ever since I gazed into their world with their first album Stridžie Dni, I was absolutely astonished with the dark medieval vibe of that album, whereas their second album Nordkarpatenland wonderfully expanded their style, but their third album Krupinské ohne was where the band really dwelled into even darker territories and it is in my opinion perhaps the best entry in their discography. When I read that their upcoming fourth album Vertumnus Caesar was scheduled to be released on October 27th this year via Invictus Productions, I got hyped over the fricking roof, but once I read that the album was mixed by Olof Wikstrand of Enforcer, that is where I truly lost my mind. Was it worth the wait? Let’s find out…

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