Band: Balfor
Title: Barbaric Blood
Label: Pulverised Records
Distribution: Pulverised Records
Release date: January 17th 2011
Review: CD

The Ukrainian band Balfor (not the Russian one) was formed in 1997, but throughout the years they didn’t release anything of international importance. Just a few demos were recorded and distributed and that’s it. But now, finally, and luckily, the debut full length studio album is a fact, and after signing to Singaporean top-label Pulverised, the actual professional release is a fact now. This debut was recorded in summer 2009 at the Blacklight Studio (Semargl, Nahar, Khors, Deferum Sacrum) with Shaddar as mixer / master.

These Barbarians bring a, yes indeed, barbaric form of slightly symphonic Black Metal, with a modest yet unnegligible and important role for orchestral and atmospheric keyboards, and lots of melodious guitar lines (barely no guitar solos, however, on the album). After a short atmospheric intro (From The Ashes – The Beginning), Barbaric Blood brings rather ‘common’ Black Metal, drenched in a darkened, abyssal sphere. The approach is rather Scandinavian (read: Sweden and, especially, Norway), going for both sound and compositional expression. Sometimes, parts of the album come with a thrashier Death-spine, then again it sounds slightly epic or technical-rhythmic, and the tempo differs a lot too: from funereally slow over mid-tempo to pretty fast, including some semi-blasting eruptions.
The album gets performed with the best intentions, and the members are experienced for sure (amongst whom newly recruited guitar player Anton ‘Dragon-T’ Pavlenko, formerly of Hellion / Hell:On-fame). However, I do miss those things that could make this album transcend the greying masses. Barbaric Blood sounds too foretold, it lacks of inborn principles, and the individual songs are little superficial and therefore slightly superfluous.

For the interested ones: ‘balfor’ means ‘funeral fire’.

75/100

Ivan Tibos.