Johann Wolfgang Pozoj - Birth Of Pozoj review

Reviewer:
8.0

7 users:
7.86

Band:	Johann Wolfgang Pozoj
Album:	Birth Of Pozoj
Release date:	2011

01. Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes
02. Queen Emeraldas

Well, Johann Wolfgang Pozoj is a band hailing from Croatia with an obscure name as you may have noticed and an even more obscure music. As the label sheet indicates, the moniker of the band has its origins in a pre-Indo-European myth concerning a dragon named Pozoj. I'm here to talk about the first album,Birth Of Pozoj, of a trilogy coming our way in the future. In fact, this work was released a few years ago under the same title, with the only difference that the band nowadays can present it under Code666 to a bigger audience. I haven't listened to the original 2007 work, henceforth I can't say how far from it's birth patterns it is, but I'll trust the label sheet and say that this version has been "re-arranged, re-thought and re-recorded".

Johann Wolfgang Pozoj play some kind of avant-garde-driven black-flirting metal and Birth Of Pozoj consists of two compositions, lasting 35 and 21 minutes equally. Their length indicates that they take their time to unfold everything the band has to say and I have to admit that it's not the type of music you could listen to anytime, anyplace. You can't wake up one morning and say, "alright, let's listen to Birth Of Pozoj", it would be a crime and you'd probably not appreciate the album. A relaxed mind during nighttime when not many things can distract your attention is all you require and the journey begins.

The first impression always comes from the cover artwork, which I found really good, it's like a hollow eclipse of the sun and with this I mean, in first sight it seems like an eclipse (and it is, or maybe not?), but during the second sight in the centre of the eclipse it's the universe. The way the album flows varies from slowly expanding acoustic/atmospheric moments with recites and chanting clean vocals or more ambient phases to groovier moments that turn to powerful and more fast-paced passages with dynamic riffing and unearthly screams. There are times you get the impression as if you were reading a dreary fairytale with its ups and downs in intensity. This is the ambiance I receive while listening to Birth Of Pozoj and this feeling gets stronger through the repetition of ideas during each song excursion.

"Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes" has to be the calm before the storm, with its own thundering moments that prologue the forthcoming rain and "Queen Emeraldas" is the storm itself with the threatening tranquility between every outburst and an escalating ending. Henceforth during the first one the instruments play an atmosphere-evoking role, whereas during the second they get their chance to strengthen their presence and depict a more complex and structured face. The classical/acoustic/distorted guitars play an important role and so do the keyboards (either floating or more to the front), the rhythm section accompanies in any tempo with some interesting ideas here and there and the vocals, well, lend voice to the compositions whether they are soothing or entrancing. The production is very good and helps every sound aspect, damn, even the bass lines are vivid.

Concluding, I would recommend to all those weirdoes out there who are willing to give it a shot, it won't be enough. Spend some time with it and it will reward you, according to each one's tastes and expectations of course.

Rating breakdown

Performance:	9
Songwriting:	8
Originality:	8
Production:	9

Written on 17.08.2011 by

KwonVerge

"It is myself I have never met, whose face is pasted on the underside of my mind."

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Kuroboshi Posts: 1152 From: Sweden	18.08.2011 - 11:20 Kuroboshi Posts: 1152 From: Sweden Will definitely check this out. Thanks for a well worded review. "henceforth I can't say how far from it's birth patterns it is" I saw what you did there! Loading...
Tranquillizer Account deleted	18.08.2011 - 11:34 Tranquillizer Account deleted The few clips I found on Youtube sound really promising. I have no idea how this band passed under my radar up to now. Loading...
Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10077 From: Czech Republic	18.08.2011 - 11:36 Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10077 From: Czech Republic From the looks of it, this is one of the most pretentious albums released lately. Loading...
Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway	18.08.2011 - 13:01 Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway Wow, a band from Balkan. Interesting... ---- 7.0 means the album is good Loading...
malaikat Posts: 405	18.08.2011 - 13:13 malaikat Posts: 405 Damn, how did I miss this? Sounds amazing, based on th review. They should definitely promote this album in th Ex-Yugoslavia countries, if nothing else - we've got pretty nice BM and experimental BM underground scene in Serbia, so they're always welcome here Loading...
Enissa Posts: 811 From: Turkey	18.08.2011 - 14:01 Enissa Posts: 811 From: Turkey Wow, really beautifully written review, gotta check'em out! wait, this band has two albums with the same title, one in 2007, and the other in 2011, what's up with that?!! Loading...
Tranquillizer Account deleted	18.08.2011 - 14:26 Tranquillizer Account deleted Written by Enissa on 18.08.2011 at 14:01 Wow, really beautifully written review, gotta check'em out! wait, this band has two albums with the same title, one in 2007, and the other in 2011, what's up with that?!! I seems that this is a re-recording of 2 songs from their first album/demo, with some parts added ( track two seems extended coniderably.) Loading...
!J.O.O.E.! Account deleted	18.08.2011 - 14:37 !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted Quite a compelling review as always, I may check this out. I like the cover art, reminds me of Sunn O)))'s Monoliths and Dimensions artwork. Loading...
Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway	18.08.2011 - 15:50 Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway Written by malaikat on 18.08.2011 at 13:13 Damn, how did I miss this? Sounds amazing, based on th review. They should definitely promote this album in th Ex-Yugoslavia countries, if nothing else - we've got pretty nice BM and experimental BM underground scene in Serbia, so they're always welcome here Dude, I never heard of experimental BM here, just the regular stuff but maybe that's because I don't listen to black metal. Anyway, there's certainly a great number of black metal fans here, so I'll ask them how they feel about this release after some time ---- 7.0 means the album is good Loading...
malaikat Posts: 405	18.08.2011 - 16:26 malaikat Posts: 405 Written by Milena on 18.08.2011 at 15:50 Written by malaikat on 18.08.2011 at 13:13 Damn, how did I miss this? Sounds amazing, based on th review. They should definitely promote this album in th Ex-Yugoslavia countries, if nothing else - we've got pretty nice BM and experimental BM underground scene in Serbia, so they're always welcome here Dude, I never heard of experimental BM here, just the regular stuff but maybe that's because I don't listen to black metal. Anyway, there's certainly a great number of black metal fans here, so I'll ask them how they feel about this release after some time Well, experimental BM bands here (in Novi Sad and Vojvodina in general) are more side projects of a side projects of a side project, so... :S After all, everybody wants to be heard(and earn some money ofc), and experimental BM is just not that profitable or popular, even when comparing it to traditional BM :/ But again, there are many post/experimental metal bands emerging (check out Pry from Novi Sad, they are awesome), so that gives me some hope that experimental BM will also become more popular as time goes Loading...
Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway	18.08.2011 - 16:36 Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway Written by malaikat on 18.08.2011 at 16:26 Written by Milena on 18.08.2011 at 15:50 Written by malaikat on 18.08.2011 at 13:13 Damn, how did I miss this? Sounds amazing, based on th review. They should definitely promote this album in th Ex-Yugoslavia countries, if nothing else - we've got pretty nice BM and experimental BM underground scene in Serbia, so they're always welcome here Dude, I never heard of experimental BM here, just the regular stuff but maybe that's because I don't listen to black metal. Anyway, there's certainly a great number of black metal fans here, so I'll ask them how they feel about this release after some time Well, experimental BM bands here (in Novi Sad and Vojvodina in general) are more side projects of a side projects of a side project, so... :S After all, everybody wants to be heard(and earn some money ofc), and experimental BM is just not that profitable or popular, even when comparing it to traditional BM :/ But again, there are many post/experimental metal bands emerging (check out Pry from Novi Sad, they are awesome), so that gives me some hope that experimental BM will also become more popular as time goes Nah, I think that, before we start experimenting, we should focus on building decent studios and making decent music in the more traditional vein, that's the basis of everything. And yep, people in Vojvodina are pretty crazy! Don't like the power metal, but the rest of music you guys make...well done. ---- 7.0 means the album is good Loading...
KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece	18.08.2011 - 17:10 KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece Is there any balkan band that uses traditional elements from its region or balkans in general and marries it with metal? i've always thought it would be kind of cool and, well... different! ---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on. Loading...
Tranquillizer Account deleted	18.08.2011 - 17:19 Tranquillizer Account deleted Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 17:10 Is there any balkan band that uses traditional elements from its region or balkans in general and marries it with metal? i've always thought it would be kind of cool and, well... different! Something like this? Loading...
KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece	18.08.2011 - 17:28 KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece Yeah, something like that, sounds nice, thanks! Although i'd prefer some more slow-paced mixture of doom-or-black with the melancholic part of balkanian heritage, but that's a personal preference. ---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on. Loading...
Enissa Posts: 811 From: Turkey	18.08.2011 - 19:56 Enissa Posts: 811 From: Turkey So any thought on how to get this?? Loading...
KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece	18.08.2011 - 20:04 KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece Written by Enissa on 18.08.2011 at 19:56 So any thought on how to get this?? I guess you should contact Code666 the label, or ask a local metal store or a music store in general if they can get this album for you or something, or buy it from the net in general. ---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on. Loading...
Enissa Posts: 811 From: Turkey	18.08.2011 - 20:16 Enissa Posts: 811 From: Turkey Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 20:04 Written by Enissa on 18.08.2011 at 19:56 So any thought on how to get this?? I guess you should contact Code666 the label, or ask a local metal store or a music store in general if they can get this album for you or something, or buy it from the net in general. sadly everything you mentioned is hard (or lets be realistic and say impossible) to do here...!! I meant if there's a digital copy or a free link or something! Loading...
!J.O.O.E.! Account deleted	18.08.2011 - 20:19 !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted Written by Enissa on 18.08.2011 at 20:16 sadly everything you mentioned is hard (or lets be realistic and say impossible) to do here...!! I meant if there's a digital copy or a free link or something! Google + Band name + album name + popular file hosting website name = Bob's your uncle/Fanny's your aunt Not that anyone here condones that kind of activity. Loading...
Yugosaki Posts: 140 From: Bosnia and Herzegovina	18.08.2011 - 22:11 Yugosaki Posts: 140 From: Bosnia and Herzegovina Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 17:28 Yeah, something like that, sounds nice, thanks! Although i'd prefer some more slow-paced mixture of doom-or-black with the melancholic part of balkanian heritage, but that's a personal preference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OxE2bUmHdc ---- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaEBpRWr2IA Loading...
KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece	18.08.2011 - 22:26 KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece Written by Yugosaki on 18.08.2011 at 22:11 Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 17:28 Yeah, something like that, sounds nice, thanks! Although i'd prefer some more slow-paced mixture of doom-or-black with the melancholic part of balkanian heritage, but that's a personal preference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OxE2bUmHdc Listened to this song and "behold the mountains" on youtube, pretty close to what i'm searching, thanks a lot, i will definitely invest more into them ---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on. Loading...
Yugosaki Posts: 140 From: Bosnia and Herzegovina	18.08.2011 - 23:10 Yugosaki Posts: 140 From: Bosnia and Herzegovina Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 22:26 Written by Yugosaki on 18.08.2011 at 22:11 Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 17:28 Yeah, something like that, sounds nice, thanks! Although i'd prefer some more slow-paced mixture of doom-or-black with the melancholic part of balkanian heritage, but that's a personal preference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OxE2bUmHdc Listened to this song and "behold the mountains" on youtube, pretty close to what i'm searching, thanks a lot, i will definitely invest more into them you should listen to, they are very good ---- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaEBpRWr2IA Loading...
Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10077 From: Czech Republic	20.08.2011 - 11:38 Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10077 From: Czech Republic Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 17:28 Yeah, something like that, sounds nice, thanks! Although i'd prefer some more slow-paced mixture of doom-or-black with the melancholic part of balkanian heritage, but that's a personal preference. um.. just from Romania i can name GOD's old albums, Negura Bunget, Bucovina, Bucium, there are lots of them Loading...
Mihovil Posts: 1 From: USA	29.08.2011 - 01:22 Mihovil Posts: 1 From: USA Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 17:10 Is there any balkan band that uses traditional elements from its region or balkans in general and marries it with metal? i've always thought it would be kind of cool and, well... different! There's actually this Croatian death metal band called True which 3 of the 5 members of J.W. Pozoj are members of (the vocalist for True was the original vocalist for Pozoj too). What they do is integrate this Croatian/Serbian/etc.... folk instrument called a tamburitza. It really adds a nice flavor to the death metal being played. Loading...
KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece	29.08.2011 - 02:17 KwonVerge Odysseus Posts: 5068 From: Greece Written by Mihovil on 29.08.2011 at 01:22 There's actually this Croatian death metal band called True which 3 of the 5 members of J.W. Pozoj are members of (the vocalist for True was the original vocalist for Pozoj too). What they do is integrate this Croatian/Serbian/etc.... folk instrument called a tamburitza. It really adds a nice flavor to the death metal being played. Damn, i pretty much enjoyed those songs and hell yeah, this instrument you mentioned really adds something to the songs! It has a nice sound, thanks for the recommendation ---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on. Loading...
Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway	19.11.2011 - 17:13 Milena gloom cookie Posts: 4603 From: Norway Written by KwonVerge on 18.08.2011 at 17:10 Is there any balkan band that uses traditional elements from its region or balkans in general and marries it with metal? i've always thought it would be kind of cool and, well... different! There's actually a slightly proggy band called Uneven who does that, it's real Serbian folk metal. ---- 7.0 means the album is good Loading...