Imagine that. I was unable to play metal musick today. Almost for the whole day, thanks to being unwell or something. So I’ve ended up browsing Bandcamp and what did I find! For some strange reason I was browsing stuff from Slovak Republic (that’s my home country, just to let you know), and I was surprised to find some terrific stuff!
OK, I think I need to explain some circumstances here. You know, almost 40 years of communist rule did leave its mark on the population and for some strange reason many still view many things from our country as sub-par and of low quality, music included.
But is it true? Are we really sub-par? Fuck no! And to emphasize that statement, let’s introduce one fucking great band from our capital city, Bratislava, and their 2018 album, called “Besnota” (Rabies).
Catastrofy plays so called robbers’ thrash. What’s that? Well, it’s a modern thrash, but because guys understood the importance of being unique, they cleverly use Slovak folklore violin motives in some songs and what’s most important – they sing in Slovak language. And that’s something you don’t see/hear everyday, as let’s be honest, Slovak language is not exactly the one you’d pick up for thrash metal lyrics.
And because I understand they lyrics and majority of you don’t, guys are critical of society and politics, and that’s nothing earth-shattering, but some songs are plain fun and/or tongue-in-cheek and fuckin hell…they just make you replay them! Unfortunately, some little jokes won’t be understood by the international audience, but that’s just a small price to pay while enjoying the album as a whole. On the contrary, Slovak audience will love this, I am sure as hell about that!
Favourite songs, no doubt, are: “Príručka mladých zbojníkov“ (Young Robbers Manual), “A.D.A.B.” (All Drabs are Bastards, “drab” is the archaic terminus technicus for the feudal age’s law enforcement 🙂 ) and “Jebem vaše idoly“ (Fuck Your Idols). But honestly, it’s hard to choose. The folklore aspect of the music is well expressed by the accoustic intro to “Hurá, vojna!“ (Hooray, the War!), the song itself is a sad reflection of the atmosphere in certain circles in Slovakia (would-be revolutionaries, you know), and the last track “Luciferov papek” (Lucifer’s Rod)
„Obyčajná kurva“ (Common Whore), on the other hand is another reflection put in the face of those, well…common whores. And it‘s not about female golddiggers, you know. Backstabbers will find themselves in there as well. So true a song, it’s almost scary.
13 tracks of musick you want to grab and run to play to your friends, especially if they are from Slovakia. Word, man!
Have a listen here: https://catastrofy.bandcamp.com/album/besnota
