Premiere: Mrtva Vod
“To Ne Zlyva Rydaye Nad Namy”
3/4/22 | J. Proust
Last year when we hosted a premiere for him, we learned that the man who goes by Wanja Mamykin named his solo black metal operation after the river that runs through his hometown in southern Ukraine. At the time of this premiere, Ukraine is under attack by Russian invaders. Even now, these “Rotted Lands” and “Funereal Soils…” that Wanja Mamykin of Mrtva Vod screams about so passionately in his black metal, he defends with his life.
Opening with a sliding bass note that detonates into furious tremolo-picked melancholy, “To Ne Zlyva Rydaye Nad Namy” takes no time in showing Mrtva Vod’s numerous noteworthy strengths. Not only the fiery riff-driven spleen of his music, but the basswork of Mrtva Vod positively haunts this track. At the other end of the audio spectrum comes flying Mamykin’s vocals to pierce your skull like so many expertly flung blazing arrows. Founded on the back of chthonic solid and unique drumming and an impressive recording capability—all of which seems to have been handled by Mamykin himself—and yet, “To Ne Zlyva Rydaye Nad Namy” is only the beginning.
Picking up musically, thematically and aesthetically where last year’s Flora of Evil EP left off, Divided in Life was brought forth into the world amidst strife and despair. Out on vinyl April 1 from Stygian Black Hand, Divided in Life will no doubt be one of the year’s most important records.
