The eternally phasing aurae of a blindly indifferent natural force and its plunder of the nerve of mankind below manifests as sinister awe, a reaction to terrifying beauty which bears the strength to tear a tree up from its roots just as well as it might strike the mind with blinding, disastrous madness. The pressurized atmosphere and electromagnetic skies presented by Opole, Poland-borne black metal quartet HALNY are an omen of oncoming mass-mania and a celebration of the supra-natural forces of nature abounding. Their debut full-length album ‘Zawrat‘ appears as an embrace of what is out of the realm of human control with great admiration for awe-inspiring surroundings and the sometimes unseen connection between habitant and habitat.

Halny formed circa 2015 between folks who appear to have been involved in death/thrash metal band Sekator in their earlier stages, otherwise we’re given no specific context for the years in between beyond guitarist/vocalist Paweł Patyniak serving as the engineer and producer of the album, the artwork coming by way of second guitarist Wojciech Fikus, and their work generally being suggested as inspired by the folklore of their region. Though as we take a closer look at lyrics and song titles most of the songs on this debut refer to mountain passes and exceptional viewpoints along the Tatras, the highest peaks of the Carpathian mountains which border southern Poland, assumedly the setting for the “halny” a force of wind and a natural ill omen not unlike the lunacy inspired by the moon of yore. Otherwise the main inspiration one can quickly pick up from the band’s work is generally modern Polish black metal, moreso the generations spawned beyond the popularity of the third Mgła album and of course taking note from the early works of Furia (see: “Faust”). Though ‘Zawrat‘ is not necessarily a full-on avant-garde or post-black metal record it does present a modern and well-rounded approach to variety through mild abstraction within its six song ~34 minute run-through.

Beyond the aching and inching-forth stride of opener and title track (“Zawrat”) and the tumultuous slapping of “Limba” in introduction of Halny‘s sound the first hint that these folks have arrived with some high competency is a bit buried in the pocket-shoved bass guitar tone and the eerie waft within the middle of the latter piece. These folks clearly have some strong aptitudes, well above-average musicianship beyond the sort of underground naturalist first impression given. That said their own experting spin upon the modern Polish black metal spectrum arrives with the psych-doom walk of the bassline which opens “Wiecznie”, one of the longer and more character rich pieces on the full listen which appears to step well outside of the usual underground monkey-see, monkey-do of black metal in general. Snaking leads, ear-spiking chords struck, and an almost progressive touch to this piece acted to quickly ingratiate me to the full listen of this album and thanks in no small part to the hypnotic and unpredictable induction this song ultimately brews.

What Halny do from this point should naturally set their work apart in hindsight (or, repeated listens) as they hold on to that lofty, mysterious atmosphere and sustain what’d been achieved tonally at the peak of “Wiecznie”, having mustered and sustained that momentum through follow-up “Faust”. While we are amidst that sparking particulate carried in thier jet stream the production values here certainly are prompted by a guitarist, setting some priority for the warbling effects-bent lead shaping first, but the rhythm section only seems to have warmed as the thrum of “Faust” eventually gives way to its swerving power chords and double-bass kicked ride through. The line between something skillfully achieved and somewhat accessible versus a deep-set, uncaring underground black metal record has been crossed and re-crossed at this point to the point that ‘Zawrat‘ clearly isn’t just another record by the time we hit what I’d consider the major highlight of the album, “Maj”. With consideration for this point of peak immersion, the dramatic lead guitar strokes applied to the piece, and the sort of thrashing-in presentation of the song from my point of view this song is Halny striking with their most compelling detail while the iron is at its hottest, most pliable state. Needless to say the album continues to carry its rhythmic momentum through its short length and, I suppose in this case brevity could be reasonably applied as a fault.

Cutting off the conversation mid-flight, before they’d finished the thought yet likewise before they’d belabored the idea, ‘Zawrat‘ is left feeling terminally brief at just ~34 minutes in length, leaving well enough space for one more piece which might’ve acted as either a grand finale or a wind-down before cycling back to the start. The full listen remains repeatable to some considerable degree, I’d probably sat with this record for four hours per sitting four times in the a span of ~4-5 days, though a single sitting with the album would often leave me wanting another four or five minutes up at Halny‘s considerable altitude. With this level of familiarity in hand I’ve found ‘Zawrat‘ not only memorable upon return but surprisingly tuneful per its tendency for veering rhythms and the overall groove applied to its rhythm section. This might read less ‘underground’ in terms of black metal than some will appreciate but for my own taste this fits well within the more promising spectrum of modern Polish black metal envision and seems to bear its own potential for unique style in the future. A high recommendation.

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