Out now: Smyčka - Fated!

Debut album from Russia post-metallers Smyčka. The band was intended to be a conceptual project referencing Franz Kafka's stories with an experimental approach to music. Thus resulting in a synthesis of post-metal itself, dark jazz, black, even death metal influences, and a mix of extreme and clean vocals.

"Fated" is about tragic destiny, fatalism. These are the songs of fear, helplessness, and desperate resistance to fate - sometimes aggressive and almost hysterical, followed by humility and calm. The soulful female vocals, turning into frantic screams, emphasize the general feeling of confusion and ghostly hope. Formally, tracks are united by references to the short prose of Franz Kafka. However, the main idea is the collision with circumstances. Sometimes the protagonist can be defeated physically: for example, in "Fated", "Betrayed" and "Torn" death becomes an ending. And sometimes tragically as a person: "Mut(at)ed" describes a personality being destroyed by fear and lie.

Balancing between heavy aggression and melody, the album gradually and steadily plunges deeper and deeper into the gloomy atmosphere of Kafkaesque nightmare.