With next demo (from 2011, re-released with added outro in 2013) there are two possible ways to look at it: first, there’s not much change from the debut “Útalan utakon” (reviewed here) and that’s great, and the second, there’s not much change, why bother?
Well, fortunately I belong to the first camp and I enjoy this atmospheric black metal piece for what it is. Boszorkánytánc – as you might know from one of my posts – was actually my first encounter with this Hungarian duo.
So, let’s see what this demo/album offers. After the instrumental “Intro” we are introduced to a lengthy (12:37) opus “Az éjszaka magánya“. And that’s not the longest track here! Unwinding nicely in mid-tempo, the hypnotic keyboards are a fitting companion to the vocals and the rest of the instruments. The passages does repeat themselves in creating a nice atmosphere, the melody is catchy, so you’ll welcome that. The sound is muddled and while in other genres one could raise one’s eyebrows, here it doesn’t pose a problem, quite the contrary.
The second track gave the demo/album its name. It’s “Boszorkánytánc“, the Witches’ dance. The long opening of this longest song (13:17) of this album is somewhat omnious, almost on a cosmic scale of things (if you ever have visited a planetarium, you definitely know what I mean) and the melody of the piano is again haunting and beautiful…or hauntingly beautiful.
Truth to be told, this is stuff for astral journeys, for meditative thinking, the slow falling into nothingness…it’s when you close your eyes and just give yourself up to the music, then you really can appreciate it. But I can quite see it as a movie soundtrack, giving a scene that spectacular extra. But in some moments the music brings out also sad emotions… well, that’s the power of music, folks.
But “Eltűnt, elveszett”, although somewhat continuing in the slow, emotional stroll through the aural spheres, also brings back the drum machine and muzzled guitar riffs. 12:54 of lovable, monotonous, hypnotic tunes for sleepless nights. And when at 5 minute mark we encounter the vocals again, the full impact of the song is simply one to enjoy. Even the song somehow raises itself from the sad melancholia, bringing the feelings of expectation and joyfulness…might be just my experience, but that’s how I feel it. And with the song finishing, we’re going back to the pure instrumental keyboard play…what’s not to love there!
“Emlékhullás“ originally closed the original 2011 Boszorkánytánc demo. 10:09 long, it’s the shortest regular track on this release, although one quite certainly can’t complain of the lacking the playtime. Nothing to complain about in the composition neither, it has the feel of the climax, being built slowly from the previous two songs. The melody is indeed majestic and the change in about 3:36 suffices to keep listeners’ attention. Although, as with the debut material, also here the statement is true – if you don’t like this genre, I highly doubt you would last past the first song (or a half of it).
The song is structurally pretty much the same as the previous one, ending with the instrumental keyboard play again…
…and the last 2 minutes (OK, 2:08) belongs to the instrumental “Outro”, which definitely closes this musical experience.
What, then, to say about this album? I can’t imagine listening to it on a very regular basis. And I don’t think it was meant to. But when you need to just lay down, relax and let your thoughts wander in the far-off dimensions – you’re not gonna go wrong with putting this into your player.
Check the album on Bandcamp: https://witcherband.bandcamp.com/album/boszork-nyt-nc
