Band:	Prognan
Album:	Sjene Nad Balkanom
Style:	Melodic black metal
Release date:	January 24, 2024
A review by:	Netzach

01. Marseljski Atentat
02. Iskonsko Zlo
03. Tri Nacije
04. Makedonka
05. Nikad, Nikad Bolje, Nikad Biti Neće
06. Samo Da Rata Ne Bude
07. Za One Koji Su Hrabri Samo Kada Ginu
08. Mrtva Vremena
09. Naši Dani
10. Nekoć Braća
11. Miris Baruta I Ognja
12. Početak Kraja

Prognan seem to be on a very productive streak as there’s already another hour of music available of captivating, cinematic black metal. Welcome back to Balkan, twenty years after the first world war. It’s still as grim and epic as ever.

Naši Životi Više Ne Postoje was an impressive debut that was (slightly too) full of hard-rocking, chugging black metal riffs, actually real orchestrations, and rhythmic Croatian screaming. It’s gone on to become one of my most-listened-to albums from 2023, so I’m naturally very excited to see what Prognan (Exiled) has in store for us this time around. For starters, as I mentioned in my previous review, what really sets this band apart from other melodic/symphonic black metal acts is the way in which the entire songs sound like some sort of soundtrack orchestrations rather than the symphonics just being added on top of a black metal core, and of course the inspiring fact that the orchestrations aren’t synths but real ones. This makes Prognan’s music, although its heritage is very much recognisable, sound just different enough to really make me pay attention. Alright, here we go.

The first album told the story of a soldier fighting in the first world war, and now we’ve entered the 1930s. Balkan is still as depressing a place as ever, apparently, never having recovered from the destruction caused by the war (and, of course, another world war is just on the horizon). The story on Sjene Nad Balkanom (Shadows Over Balkan) deals less with war, but is still told with as personal a touch as the debut’s one. Now, I still don’t know Croatian, but from what I’ve gathered it tells the story of a trio of Serb, Croatian, and German friends who go on to participate in a murder investigation that ends up uncovering a lot of corruption and dark secrets, including the victims having been murderers and rapists during the war in the story of the first album, which ties the stories neatly together in a way that makes me feel Prognan is creating his own little universe of storytelling here, which I appreciate a lot. Prognan has stated that he will release four albums that will tell a complete storyline, and that will be all. This is an interesting and quite unique concept for a metal album, and sets Sjene Nad Balkanom apart in not only music, but theme. The ending of the album even replicates some of the musical themes from the first album to tie it all together.

“Marseljski Atentat” (The Marseilles Assassination) starts off the album with subdued folk music and the sound of a cityscape before it all explodes and a dark, chugging riff assaults you together with the fast-paced, rhythmic vocals I’m now used to from the previous album. The vocals have for sure been kicked up a notch, having a much more instantaneous rasp and force to them than on Naši Životi Više Ne Postoje (whether from production differences or improved singing, I don’t know, probably a bit of both). On both this opening song and the following “Iskonsko Zlo” (Primordial Evil), there are less cinematics than last time around. The songs focus more on thick, exciting melodic black metal and do it very well. “Tri Nacije” (Three Nations) then throws us a large curveball; the first half of it contains some very engaging metal and impressively fast-paced singing, but it then devolves into a circus-like piano interlude (which is not bad, I might add, but…) that then ends in several minutes of ambience, which is… a bit too much.

On the next song, I suddenly realise what a great language Serbo-Croatian is for this type of metal; it’s a very stark, rhythmic language filled with harsh consonants that just fits mastermind Kob’s style of singing very well. Moving on, I feel a bit of trepidation when I see that “Samo Da Nam Rata Ne Bude” (If Only There Would Be No War) is over 11 minutes long, and it might go on for a bit too long in the first minutes, which I think is partly because I don’t understand the lyrics - it sounds like there’s a big story event being told here over the repetitive riffing, but I have no idea what is about and that makes me a bit lost. Some variation in the singing adds to the excitement of the song, however, and while it is probably the simplest and longest song, it’s quite epic with very minimal elements until it (as most of the songs tend to do) builds into a cinematic, melodic climax that takes a bit too long to get going. “Za One Koju Su Hrabri Samo Kada Ginu” (For Those Who Are Brave Only When They Die) throws us another curveball, being a short but sweet folk ballad with clean singing that breaks up the pace very nicely just when needed.

I would mention other highlights of the album, but I'm running out of space, and nobody wants a whole essay. Suffice to say, the rest of the album follows this same template, and is thoroughly engaging, exciting and emotional enough to be well worth your listening time. While Sjene Nad Balkanom has a slightly different approach than Naši Životi Više Ne Postoje, being both more straight-up metal and at times atmospheric, my main points from my previous review still stand here: original approach, (probably) great storytelling, very well produced, still a bit too ambitious for its own good, but overall really great music.