Though the 3rd album from Poland's Naumachia might bear a rather cliche title, the style the band performs is anything but. Imagine the hustle and groove/brutality of Polish peers like Vader, Decapitated or Behemoth spliced with the use of myriad techno synthesizers. A few groups have paved this path before, a few of the later ...And Oceans releases spring to mind, but Naumachia ranges from the use of the synths to merely accent the guitars, to full blown creepy industrial."Inward Spiral" creates a forest of proggish synth-scapes behind a rather direct, pummeling rhythms and the blunt grunts of Soyak. Though the guitars do little interesting, they serve as adequate percussion for the keys which often create some swelling, beautiful environments. They also freak the fuck out before the 2 minute mark, a tumescent, fluttery eclipse. "Egomaniac Frenzy" is far more brutal, with some blasting over the rapid grinding guitars and the synths serve as a nightmarish backdrop. "Mortification Study" is an industrial piece with some nice, clanging percussion and guitar noise drowned in a dark cosmic atmosphere with some whispered vocals. This wound up one of my favorites on the album, quite original. They return to their aggressive sci-fi death metal with "Voyeuristic Life Abuser" and "Fornicatrix", and the wild "Iconography of Pain" which was another of the album's high points.
Black Sun Rising sounds dense and complete, but the synths are not subtle here, so if you are not a fan of them in your death metal, stay clear of this album. If the sounds of more varied Polish death metal acts like Crionics and Vesania appease you, or a more frenzied Fear Factory, then I think Naumachia is a natural choice for you. The songs are uniformly intense and well-plotted, though I did most enjoy their experimentation in "Mortification Study" more than any of the metal tracks.
Verdict: Win [7/10]
http://www.myspace.com/naumachia
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