Screaming from within the vortex they’d create in frenzied entrance Stockholm, Sweden-based black metal quartet WÉKERAS arrive with simple, straightforward goals in mind and mild precision in hand on this debut full-length album. An exploration which attempts to trace a line from nascent metalpunk rhythms all the way toward the early 90’s Norsk scene in sourcing its approach this relatively new band offer a ~half-hour crack through obsessively cut rhythms and barking rasp on ‘Do wirów, do krzyków‘. Their work is a blast of ‘old school viewed in hindsight’ via thrashing black metal and only just that, a fixated spectacle delivering rawly nostalgic sound via high energetic command.

Wékeras formed just a couple of years ago in 2022 between guitarist/composer Horreur, bassist Vulgael and vocalist/lyricist JRMR and by the time they’d recorded their debut demo (‘Pochwała cienia‘, 2023) in early 2023 they’d onboarded drummer Pito Perversor (Nameless Tomb). A black metal band from Stockholm presented in the Polish language with strong inspiration taken from Norwegian black metal impetus isn’t even close to the strangest read on an act to come out of their city in recent years though they -did- kinda sound like a primitive, punkish version of earlier Watain on that first tape. If you are familiar with UK82 and nearby hardcore punk’s influence upon a few key drummers in development of first wave black metal (and many metal sub-genres beyond) you might get a hint of it within the tempo map and rhythm guitar thread offered by that demo tape though the band suggest their vision of black metal connects the first and second wave in some respect.

While none of the music on ‘Do wirów, do krzyków‘ relates to the heavy rock theatre of the first wave (re: early Venom, Bathory) nor does it speak to speed metal’s earliest impact the slapped-out style of this record at least communicates some manner of primeval bludgeon, whether or not that’d been the focus of the early second wave. The only commentary I’ll offer in this sense was that early black metal was slower than folks might recall and here on their debut Wékeras thrive within a largely post-millennium style of speeding-hot rally for their initial impact. Opener “Bezdech” is an appropriate mention in this sense as we get a maze of differently paced interruptions which attempt to balance string-glinting guitar noise, riffs dotted with trills, and an overall thrashing step to per the first of six similarly arranged ~5 minute black metal pieces. In the process they achieve enticingly malevolent atmosphere to start, a compelling energy which is fittingly imprecise and erratic.

Maniac energy, manageable pre-double bass drum era speed, and high-grade tension makes up for at-times generic “black metal” riff runs here as the broader appeal of Wékeras‘ gig becomes far more apparent via the ear-ringing kick through “Urok“, another multi-staged approach to raw black metal songcraft which shines in its transitional capability. The feeling of a single guitar recording definitely read as limited when I’d first approached this record but this only added to the wrathful charm of the listening experience, a very ground-level experience with a wounded beast of a sound; The band’s efforts eventually turn to the hardcore punk informed realm of black metal vernacular as the third piece “Niedola” hits the ~1:22 minute mark and that crossover-thrash era push paired with simpler Darkthrone-esque two-chord droning indicates some steam is quickly escaping from the available riff experience. “Ohyda” goes even further with this thought via its use of simpler thrash metal movement, aiming to generate the sensation of chaotic speed per its opening though unfortunately this doesn’t live up to the less precise, muddled version of this song found on ‘Pochwała cienia‘.

Closer “Zatracenie” doesn’t necessarily finish the thought as it goes out with a bang, another black-thrash metal piece rooted in hardcorish two-stepping beats which feels fresh out of the rehearsal room with its kind of black n’ roll swinging verses. The band’s greatest strengths are exemplified here, emanating high energy via simpler means while still conveying the feeling of black metal from a distance. Otherwise the full listen awkwardly ends at that point via a short outro which appears to have been included to stretch the length of the album just past the half hour mark. I’m not sure there was enough of an idea here to warrant a full-length album though Wékeras‘ expansion of the general sound beyond the songs included on their demo is successful as a sort of metalpunk tinged raw black metal experience. I’ve no doubt these songs would smoke in a live setting but as an album experience it is merely a satisfying shot in the arm to start. A moderately high recommendation.

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