Band: Root
Title: Zjeveni
Label: I Hate Records
Distribution: Twilight / Bertus
Release date: July 2009
Review: CD (re-release)

The Swedish label I Hate Records is re-releasing almost all ‘old’ material by the Czech (former Czechoslovakian) formation Root – amongst those the great recordings The Book or Hell Symphony, for example, re-released earlier this year, and, of course, reviewed with passion and pleasure by (it) on our beloved concrete site (reviews still available).
The main problem in the early years was the communist government, making it difficult to east-European bands to record properly (with nice equipment) and, especially, to promote their material in both their home country as well as outside. Concluding: thanks, I Hate Records, I do not hate you (for doing this fine job).
Root were formed at the end of 1987 (!) by Big Boss, the guy who started the Czechoslovakian department of the Church Of Satan, and Peter Hosek aka Blackie. 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.
Zjeveni, which means revelation if I’m not mistaken, was the band’s official debut album, originally released in 1990, and it is the band’s most ‘blackish’ release, except for the demo songs. The album stands for a very primitive form of darkened and occult Metal, uniting thrashy riffs with a dirty rhythm section and even dirtier Csihar-alike vocals (all in Czech language). The tempo varies a lot: some tracks are (pretty) slow, others are (pretty) fast, and in fact most tracks contain both doomy and fast parts, the latter filled with energetic anger and evil persuasion. The guitars are mainly melodic, sometimes translated into an epic approach (Piseň Pro Satana amongst others), then again furious as a demon with burning diarrhoea. The sound, well, it stinks, but my brain just accepts it – don’t ask me why, I guess I’m just melancholising the old times??? Root inject their diabolic music(k)al poems with elements that were rather unique at that time (tempo-changes, Doom-influences, malignant atmosphere, wide vocal range, Pagan and traditional elements, etc), lifting this debut album up to a level of ‘kult’!
Just like the other Root-re-releases (and I might have good news: also Temple Of The Underworld, Root’s third full length, will be re-released soon; look out for the fantastic, ultra-mega-supra-über upcoming review), Zjeveni consists of some bonus tracks, among which the 1993-version of Dogra’s Empire, one of the heaviest and most brutal Root-songs ever, and three live tracks (resp. recorded in 1998, 2004 and 2003) with an average sound quality (especially the Ostrava-recorded track 7 Černých Jezdců), yet a smashing and powerful energy.
Total running time: 53:30 minutes.

--/100

Ivan Tibos.