Band: Root
Title: The Book
Label: I Hate Records
Distribution: Bertus
Release date: 10/12/2008
Review: re-release-CD

The Swedish label I Hate Records is re-releasing some older recordings that are difficult to get nowadays. Amongst these are a few older Root-albums too. Root is an old band from the Czech Republic, formed more than twenty years ago by Big Boss, who is also known as the founder of the Czechian Church Of Satan (to be complete correct: it was in Czecho-Slovakia back then), and Blackie (Peter Hosek). In the early years, Root stood for an old-school oriented form of Black Metal, inspired by bands as Venom and Bathory. The first releases brought an old school form of blackish Metal, but as from the end of the first half of the nineties, the musical (and vocal) approach changed into a more atmospheric Dark Metal-direction. But even though the musical approach changed a lot, the ‘core’ has always been as ‘black’ as before.
Also Root’s The Book has been re-released now, including some bonus tracks, which brings the total running time to an interesting 72:21 minutes. The Book differs a lot from the former albums, because the ‘Black’-approach made place for a more melodic and atmospheric album, closely playing at a folkish edge. The whole album is covered into an occult and obscure veil, and even though the whole isn’t ‘brutal’ or ‘furious’, it is darkening, mesmerizing and malicious. The tracks are very varying from each other, but unfortunately not all of them can keep my interest awake. Most hymns are both epic and oppressing, and that’s a cynic unholy marriage that works out very hell, sorry, well. The grim, cold and natural sound completes the compositions, and the wide range on vocal timbres turns out very well.
The first bonus track is a pre-production version of The Curse - Durron, one of the most grim, most oppressing, hypnotic and slowest Root-tracks ever. The bonus part also features two unreleased demo-versions from Lykorian, as well as the first part of Corabeu’s official demo version, all of them with an average sound quality.

--/100

Ivan Tibos.