Band:	North
Album:	Na Polach Bitew
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	2006

01. Wojna Trwa (The War Rages On)
02. Pamiec Przeszlosci (Remembrance Of The Past)
03. Dni Miecza (The Days Of The Sword)
04. Slonca Znak (Symbol Of The Sun)
05. Religia Klamstwa i Nienawisci (Religion Of Lies And Hatred)
06. Krew Bohaterow (Blood Of The Heroes)
07. Na Polach Bitew (In The Battlefields)

North hail from Poland and they have been around a little bit more than a decade now. 2006 arrived and so did their fourth full-length release, the name of it being "Na Polach Bitew". The Polish black metal scene is pretty big and underground, having many interesting acts, but i didn't know of North before, but with the promo of their latest effort i got to know them i have to say that they are a good band.

If i could give a description to "Na Polach Bitew" then i would refer to it as a raging and hateful battlecry since the album flows in pretty high tempos, leaving no trace of calmness in the horizon. It has some "slower" passages, but they don't last for so long since the battle is endless and the war must be won. While listening to the album you find no mercy, the compositions, 7 in their number, are powerful, imposing and raging. The guitar riffing is black metal oriented with the ideal distortions, very powerful riffing if i may say, creating a surrounding hell, whereas the solos that burst here and there are quite twisted, something like the solos you play once and afterwards you forget about how you did it, something like Slayer in a way. Some more acoustic passages are always welcome and they have been placed wherever they are needed. The rhythm section is relentless, ultra fast and ominous, having a battle feeling at times (like on "In The Battlefields", ideal title for the song!) drumming that accompanies in any possible and impossible tempo, yet something worth-mentioning is the fact that, oddly, the bass lines are quite vivid, not all the time, but you bear witness of their existence in the songs, and if i may say they offer some very creative passages here and there (like on the fabulous "Religion Of Lies And Hatred"), which was a beautiful surprise! The vocal lines are raw and full of rage, just like the soundscapes of North, they are mostly screaming but they are turning more brutal from time to time, i suppose they are the ideal vocals for the band and the music they present, completing the legacy of war being presented through the compositions.

The only thing i didn't enjoy was the cover of the album, it seems like a scene from a third category Mel Gibson film about the middle ages wars, i didn't enjoy it at all, but the music paid me back, making me leave behind the first very bad impression since the cover plays a first role when you see an album for the first time, it prepares you for the best or the worst, this cover prepared me for something not so good, but the truth signed in the end. The production is dry and raw, strengthening the sound of the compositions, keeping their general feeling in terms of atmosphere, without tending to sound monotonous, on the contrary.

If you're searching for an album with an intense war-like feeling, primitive and raw power and, of course, a ravenous black metal aesthetic then "Na Polach Bitew" is an album you should try out.