Band:	Muyubyosha
Album:	Noč Na Krayu Sveta
Style:	Avantgarde metal
Release date:	April 2021

01. Boundless Love / Resilience
02. Redemption / Retaliation

Another day, another avant-garde black metal album. No, this doesn't happen every day, actually, and they are rarely as captivating as this one. How about raising Sigh to the power of three and dipping it in post-water? Is "ethereal" an overused adjective for music already? I bet it is, so let's settle for "subliminal", or even "sublimative".

Muyubyosha (Japanese for "Sleepwalker") is quite a fitting moniker for the music on display here. I don't know where this band gets off with these multiple languages, but Noč Na Krayu Sveta (Serbo-Croatian for "Night At The Edge Of The World") conjures up soundscapes that come off as sublimated nightmares, surely inspired by horrific sceneries but finding beauty in them, as if in defiance of surreal terror.

Consisting of two songs of equal run time and lasting less than half an hour, this album still has a lot to digest. The first minute made me believe I was in for a Blut Aus Nord ride, and there is definitely an aspect reminiscent of their 777 trilogy in action here at times, but Noč Na Krayu Sveta is by no means a one-trick pony. Driven by a borderline industrial beat in 9/4 time and a rhythm guitar that does not riff so much as it punctuates, "Boundless Love / Resilience" is tastefully drenched in reverb to the point that its submerged textures feel as much a part of the music as the actual performance, while not detracting from the listening experience by becoming too muddy. In fact, the only sounds that manage to soar above this somniferous murk are the searing, atmospheric, trebly lead guitar and the saxophone. Halfway through, the song collapses into a post-rock break, a calm before the storm of the breakneck black metal assault that tops it all off.

"Redemption / Retaliation" feels more like a continuation of the first track than a separate one, starting out in an aggressive, sludgy fashion that soon explodes into a blastbeat section only to mellow out into an instrumental movement characterized by atmospheric synth pads and jazzy bass lines not unlike what Dreadnought have been doing lately. It is a very dynamic affair as it soon erupts again, with ample opportunity given for the listener to appreciate the sound of high-pitched cymbals breaking through the wall of sound to try and make a permanent mark on the eardrums, only to die down into a similar interlude section again, adding an organ and then, why not, a flute to the black metal crescendo following.

Vocals are sparsely used, and mostly for atmospheric effect, drowned in reverb and placed way behind the instruments in the mix as they are. The sound is in constant flux, but even between the two tracks there are many common reference points to be found, such as the soaring, melodic tremolo guitars accentuating the album's more intensive movements and the off-beat machinery in the percussion. At less than half an hour, Noč Na Krayu Sveta never wears out its welcome, and rather leaves me wanting for more.

Despite all the different influences on display here, from lo-fi '90s black metal to jazzy post-rock to industrial ambiance, it is all quite accessible and easily digested while sounding full of purpose rather than pandering to any particular genre. Hey, if you're having nightmares, might as well do like Muyubyosha and sublimate them into beautiful ones, no?