RR20 Hvøsch - Thornsmoat Formed in Russia in 2013, Hvøsch is a vegan five-piece band from Saint Petersburg that combines elements of doom, post-metal, and black metal to create an endangered atmosphere in order to impart their narrative.  The band entwines ambient instrumental passages with invasive blast beats and unwavering vocals to promote atheism and animal rights. On February 28, 2017, Hvøsch released their debut full-length album Thornsmoat through Replenish Records.  100% of the proceeds from the digital downloads of the album will be donated to the Green Leo Need Project at http://www.vk.com/green_leoneed in order to help cats seized from poor conditions who are in need of care and treatment in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Pressing Information: Vinyl [ Test | Black | 10 ] [ 1 | Bone with Black A/B Mix | 500 ]
"They come from St. Petersburg and are authors of an excellent atmospheric black metal embellished with post rock influences and doom.  In the presentation of the album are mentioned formations like Altar Of Plagues and Wolves In The Throne Room, and would add the Solbrud but comparisons aside, the personality of the quintet proves disarming and a few extreme realities to debut recording are able to settle down already these levels.  The length of the two chapters called to constitute the skeleton of Thornsmoat suggests how the approach of Hvøsch not be certain superficial or simple.  Instead they will need several plays to be able to capture all the nuances of the guitar work of Deny and Tchaika or sang Bakunista.  Tetiva slowly creeps into the mind of those who approach the work preparing the ground for Kapkan which is even more detrimental and deadly.  From the narrative point of view, the band relies on anti-utopian themes, vegan cosmetic and personal catharsis and this only amplifies the urgency and the emotional power of instrumental contents recorded and mixed by Mikhail Skurikhin.  The hope is to see them soon in our country in order to test the quality in person also live by these meager thirty minutes of dark music."  Suffissocore "Directly from the cold Russia comes the debut of the Hvøsch, an active band for a few years and with several concerts.  Thornsmoat is a concept album based on the story of a fox hunted by a hunter and two dogs that runs to his fate of certain death (or tries to escape, depends on the points of view), remaining the last of his her private and her family and his family (this is a big deal in what is discourse information).  This metaphor represents a condemnation of the cruelty of the human being, not only intent on animals, but also towards the diversity of thought often ostracized by various fanatics.  The group's proposal is a dystopia that can be compared to witch hunt, where a part of society is called the worship of the righteous, punishes those who oppose or deviate from the opinion of the majority.  This sense of oppression and suffering is best carried by the group in the two long tracks on this debut in which rare-post-rock atmospheres coexist, sluggish sludge and violent and emotional post-black metal guns.  Tetiva is the song that opens the record with a high dose of emotion expressed by a melodic and melancholic intro where the acoustic guitars dominate the scene before leaving space on intense sludge walls on which the group sets up intimate melodies expressing pain and anger.  Kapkan, on the contrary, points directly to the black metal violence in the opening before letting go of alternating atmospheric passages and evocative slowdowns, ideally recreating fox escaping and abandoning the idea of inevitable death.  Thornsmoat is a startling debut that presents us with a group from the royal future, capable of creating personal and various arrangements that touch deep in the listener."  Zolfo Blog “The band describe their music as 'anti-utopian', and this new release is based on an allegory of a black fox harried to its death by a hunter and his hounds, exploring not only the cruelty of humans toward animals but also the harrowing cruelty that “the cult of the righteous” inflict on some who don’t embrace their religious dogmas.  The tale is musically arranged into two chapters. Those two songs on the album are also long ones, ranging from more than 13 minutes to nearly 16.  Against the deep, slow tumble of the drums, echoing guitar and bass notes cast a dark spell in “Tetiva (Chapter I)”, a spell that is drawn into deeper midnight shades when huge chords and a radioactive background haze enter the frame.  Percussive plucking and a head-nodding beat segment the flow, and harsh vocal howls emerge in tandem with a clanging, brooding melody. Eventually, hell breaks loose in a flurry of thundering drums and typhoon riffing, a melancholy melody surfing through the storm surge before the pace slows and Hvøsch re-enter the doom-drenched, post-metal territory where they began — followed by one last surge of intensity.  The second song, “Kapkan (Chapter II)" quickly changes gears, delivering a flurry of threshing riffs over the methodical thump of the bass and drums — which soon become frenzied themselves.  An urgent, plaintive, anguished melody swells slowly through the tumult. Eventually, Hvøsch revisit the other half of their sound, in a slow, craggy, stagger, lightened only by shining guitar chords.  The music moves smoothly and effectively between these segments of spellbinding grief and torrential urgency, the dynamism holding the interest to the end of this haunting, tragic, but often beautiful tale.”  No Clean Singing