Croatian trio, Bednja’s debut album, Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas (which translates to something in the area of “Leaving Valleys Behind Us” is a statement of intent. Even the band themselves seem to struggle to pin down a genre for their music to fit into, they’d rather leave it up in interpretation, but one thing they do want you to know is that their brand of metal is different to what you know.
Whilst using a foundation of traditional Black Metal, Bednja draw from other influences to pack out their sound, a large one of these being Hardcore but they also find themselves dabbling with influences from Ambience and other Soundscape styles. By fusing this all together they create a fairly unique sound that will appeal to many, thundering blast beats and tortured, crust-like vocals will get your head nodding but these can at any second, easily give way to Shoegaze feeling guitar parts or a straight-up Hardcore, two-step drum beat, one thing missing though is the presence of any break-downs, which would be ill-fitting for Bednja’s style.
When trying to draw comparisons there are two artists spring to mind, MØL and END. Bednja incorporate both of these bands’ DNA into their own. If you’re familiar with these then you’ll have a rough idea of what to expect. To really understand what they are doing though, you have to, of course, check out the album itself.
Weighing in with a tracklist of six songs Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas is a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Admittedly at first, you don’t know what to expect or really what you are listening to once it’s underway but after two, maybe three plays the album begins to make sense and you can navigate your way around some of the more chaotic parts. Over time it all falls into place and reveals itself to be a well-constructed piece of unpredictable and experimental metal that’s well worth checking out.
Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas releases 29th November via Transcending Obscurity Records.
