Country of origin:Russia

Location:Orsk, Orenburg Oblast

Status:Active

Formed in:2010

Genre:Atmospheric Black Metal

Lyrical themes:Nature, Winter

Current label:Unsigned/independent

I couldn't resist; after hearing his later EP ("То, чего не должно было быть", reviewed elsewhere on MA), I had to go look up earlier music by this Russian act. "Замёрзшим вздохом" turns out to be a very different recording: it's much more frantic if less hypnotic and smooth. This time there's singing on a couple of tracks and the music tends to have a more angular bent to it. Percussion is also more prominent here though it's of the programmed kind and unfortunately sounds cheap for this music which to me calls for deeper and fuller drumming.

This is lively and energetic music and I would recommend this EP for anyone who does not know anything by Хлад. There is something here to satisfy most people and this is the EP that main man Ivan A should use to shop his music if he's looking for a label to distribute his work. Each track is different from the others though they are all quite fast and clamour for attention. Track 1 is urgent with fret-shredding tremolo guitar work and track 2 is an invigorating piece with a raspy vocal and a surprisingly happy mood in its last moments with a strong lead guitar riff solo in the background.

The last couple of pieces though turn out to be the best: track 3 has some folk influence in its rhythms which change quite a bit and track 4 is a smart and snappy instrumental with thrilling tremolo guitar lines and a shrill lead that reaches for the skies in its last few moments.

Given that I'd heard the 2012 EP first, I'd been expecting something repetitive with this recording. Surprise! - this EP has just enough repetition in all four tracks to establish their identities as self-contained songs and from then on, they do whatever they want.

The EP is short and it seems to be over before it's even begun properly: each track sounds as if it should be the first track on a yet to be recorded album. You're left wanting more and that seems to be a good sign. The recording keeps on improving with each new song. The fuzzy noise-BM guitar sound is good too though it's not really suited for short catchy melodic music that verges on pop-rock. The drumming also leaves much to be desired; this EP simply needs a live drummer, hands down. My only other gripe is that all four songs are short and the instrumental tracks in particular seem incomplete.

At one stage known as Kald before he became Хлад - well, what difference does swapping two middle letters make and changing the alphabet make? - this one-man BM act currently has three releases to his name and this most recent recording is a highly melodic and atmospheric trance work. From the word "go", this man means business - the listener is thrown into the deep end of high-immersion acid-shower guitar melancholy and stays there for much of the recording.

For those of us who know no Russian, this recording is split into three unnamed parts so we can assume (safely, I hope) that they are three related parts of an over-arching work on introspection, mournfulness and darkness. The first part brings us under a constant heavy noise rain through which a plaintive frail piano melody tiptoes delicately. An acoustic guitar riff, strummed continuously though monotonously, accompanies the fragmented keyboard tune. From a technical aspect, there's not much to commend the music and the percussion is beyond uninteresting but the texture of the music is deeply mesmerising and in my view compensates for the repetition.

Part 2 is similarly repetitive but at least the pummelling rhythms press some energy into the music and there's a sense of urgency and purpose, especially when the guitars weigh in. The rain showers have a curiously cleansing effect in the space between the ears. In mood it's a bleak sort of track and yet the sound and texture can be really pleasant in parts. Near the end of the track there's an unexpected manipulation of the grinding textures that mucks around with your head.

A falling-rain field recording and a solo lead guitar lament with a darker guitar accompaniment introduce Part 3. This very dark melancholy urban-blues post-rock passage continues for some time with tremolo riffing and a more varied rhythmic counter-melody. Subtle ambient effects are added throughout the track.

I can't find much to fault about this recording though part of me expected either a fourth track or a rousing conclusion to Part 3 to complete the whole EP. As it is, it does feel very incomplete. The EP is quite a repetitive work throughout and I've got to wonder whether Хлад main man Ivan A has the songwriting skills to create longer tracks that can sustain an entire album without boring listeners. It'd be a pity and a shame if the project is only limited to short recordings as this music has a dark and hypnotic beauty and envelops the listener completely in its world. Perhaps if Ivan were to introduce more acoustic instrumentation on future releases, this would help him vary his sound and stretch his skills in music composition.