Vothana – Biệt động quân / Commando (2020)

November 21, 2023

There is a tangible undercurrent to Vothana’s work that at first I didn’t quite understand. I mean, that sounds pretty silly I guess because this is just very noisy, lo-fi black metal with a lot of melody hidden in it. But it is the way in which said melodies are composed. All the songs sound immediately like Vothana in their uniqueness away from other artists in the field, yet also rather somewhat all sound similar to each other in the context of an album. Throw in the fact that this thing is as long as it is, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster, on paper at least.

Thankfully, in execution, Commando (etc etc) is a pleasure to listen to. The production is grimy, but is a massive part of the charm.