Info
- Band(s): They Came From Visions
- Label(s): Eisenwald
- Release Format(s): CD
- Release Year: 2024
- Review Date: September 8, 2024
- Author(s): FelixS
Drudkh’s immense influence on contemporary Black Metal is beyond any dispute, echoes of its elongated riffs based on the grandeur of nature can be heard in more than just a few bands. That influence has stretched very far beyond Ukrainian borders and is the basis for so many bands providing fresh blood to this particular niche in Black Metal in all kinds of new ways. Be it Saor or Winterfylleth, without Drudkh this music would almost certainly have sounded very different. But even within their own borders, the icons remain highly influential. In more recent years, there have been several interesting Ukrainian bands clearly following the same musical paths. One such band is They Came From Visions from the Ukrainian capital. With ‘The Twilight Robes’, the anonymous collective delivers their second album.
It is going a bit far to say that They Came From Vision is a direct copy of Drudkh, but it is abundantly clear that a heavy dose of that recognisable musical formula has also crept into this band’s DNA. Fast-paced melodies that constantly repeat themselves to evoke a kind of entrancing atmosphere, yet also remain dynamic enough to stay away from the Depressive Black Metal corner. The band toys with constant tempo changes that, together with the scratchy vocals, ensure that you remain attentive throughout the songs.
That They Came From Visions has not become a “dime a dozen” band after all, and is still recognisable to a large extent, has to do with its incisive use of an expansive sense of melodicism. The somewhat more modern sound that crept in on ‘The Twilight Robes’ makes the album sound a bit fresher and more innovative. A first attempt at this could already be heard on the band’s first album, ‘Cloak Of Darkness, Dagger Of Night’ (2020), but on that one it came across as rather stodgy and forced. On this latest work, this is certainly no longer the case. The whole thing sounds organic and the album flows easily from one song to the next, and the many tempo changes feel very natural. In that light, the band has managed to move from the somewhat generic debut album to this successor in a huge way.
Perhaps They Came From Visions is not the utmost best that Ukraine has to offer in terms of Black Metal, but the fact that they have been able to polish and refine their musical vision considerably in the four years between the debut and ‘The Twilight Robes’ certainly raises hopes for an even better successor. For now, ‘The Twilight Robes’ is just a solid record that is well worth listening.
