Hailing the spirits of fallen legendry and invoking their names amidst the ruins of ancient castles Bratislava, Slovakia-based black metal quartet KROLOK uncloak in reveal of this third and most high-flown full-length album. Retaining their ancient black metal-minded haunt but shifting in both subject and expression ‘Hričov – Súľov – Lietava‘ finds the band all the more theatrically engaged in theme without losing grip of the dark high fantasy voice of the early-to-mid 90’s. This makes for an experience riddled with nostalgic sounds and a bit of different register for the group but all ultimately lands within their realm of classicist authorship.

Krolok took roost of their ‘old school’ Carpathian black metal station back in 2011 by way of Graf von K. and two folks likewise involved in related troupes Malokarpatan and Remmirath among others. Inspired by their own regionality as well as classic Polish underground scenery the band’s initial appearance was headily achieved per the rambling creep of their first demo (‘When the Moon Sang Our Songs‘, 2014) a primitive voice drowned within darker-than-thou atmosphere. The band’s first EP (‘At The End of a New Age‘, 2016) provided a better-formed ideal, a warmed and ominous classicist black metal style resembling the mesmer of circa ’91-’94 rhythms rooted in both Norse and Slavic signifiers. Their first LP (‘Flying Above Ancient Ruins‘, 2017) naturally crowned the development of those key features and should be your at-minimum first stop when developing an impression of the band’s sound and style.

Veering between complexly woven arrangements draped together (in foggy gloom) and more trucking, kicked-through movements the raw trampling of Krolok‘s rhythm section did a particularly good job of upholding the auld and ominous patternation of ancient black metal to start, notably avoiding blast-heavy action out the gates. The mid-paced, eerie scowl of their second LP (‘Funeral Winds & Crimson Sky‘, 2021) was far more convincing than their first for my taste, wherein songs like “The Reptile Abyss Beneath Dowina” beguiled all senses with its snarling, cavernous atmosphere and sidewinding riffcraft. That is the main foundation supporting a closer look at this third album which’d sported glassier production value and austere gait in preview. ‘Hričov – Súľov – Lietava‘ is less an accumulation of the exact parameters of past works and moreso an expansion of those same fundaments unto different subject matter and setting.

‘Hričov – Súľov – Lietava‘ names, in title, three castle ruin locations with heavy, age-enduring history propped behind each. Those three main compositions (“Hričov”, “Súľov”, “Lietava”) reflect those same three names in that same order, alternating with shorter interstitial pieces which split the difference between dungeon synth, spoken word and forest folken scene-setting. The atmosphere achieved amounts to a cold nightsky appreciated from an unhealthy altitude, readily differentiated from the cave-dwelling call of Krolok‘s second album but stopping short of full-on aghast Nordic temperament. Fans of the more fantastical, or, high fantasy realm of early-to-mid 90’s black metal will be greeted warmly by the opener’s (“Hričov”) keys-guided introduction and likely have a good feel for the record’s intent before the ever-active minds behind the band begin whipping riffs.

“Hričov” is the up-front showpiece, a chance for bravado and a number of elaborate gestures on the path through its ~14 minute introduction. Here Krolok‘s interest in simpler riffcraft notably turns the eye’s gaze toward ‘epic’ folken movements, such as the hymnal rouse around ~5:54 minutes into the piece when signaling rest between its quicker strummed, aggressive verses. To my ear the riffcraft intentionally references the most classic mesmerizing waft of Norwegian classics when stripped down to the bone but this nonetheless manifests as a sort of paganblack dramatism in tone as spoken word and such adorns the total event. My favorite piece on the album, “Súľov“, takes us to a more intimately circling black metal groove and trampling mid-pace which seethes and gnashes as a total unit, something potentially more in line with their previous LP given its folken mid-section though the hall-filling chorales of the opener are reprised in the final third of the song.

Along the amber road the cliff-set “Lietava” is our final haunt and represents the more straightforward, trucking third of the experience but it carries no less menace than the first two. Orchestral hits, spoken word and some warped guitar effects help to bring coloration and rest to the otherwise thrumming piece. When taking stock of the three main compositions girding ‘Hričov – Súľov – Lietava‘ and its theme it’d be fair to say that these are not busied or overtly complex works and instead what they invoke in terms of atmosphere, characterization and a certain ‘old school’ black metal feeling becomes more important. This also comes with the caveat that the retro synth/keys deployed both within proper songs and especially interludium carry the weight of interest into reasonable cohesion.

Where ‘Hričov – Súľov – Lietava‘ gained some considerable value in my own exploration came with auto-translating Slovak info/histories of each setting, gaining some appreciation for both the scale and the importance of these selected sites, some of which are popular tourist destinations. If you are lesser-sentient and uninterested in context then at a bare minimum the auld classicist trompe through Krolok‘s latest is presented with clear love for the mystic call of European black metal’s most universal and idiosyncratic ideals in capable combine. Though I’d gone into the experience wanting more of the same ultimately the band’s invocation of medieval castle grounds convinced as a different tome rather than a new chapter. A moderately high recommendation.

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