If you have read my reviews, you know that lyrics are important to me and are something I often connect with when listening to an album. Even a few releases this year, such as the latest from Marianas Rest, have become even more deeply meaningful to me once I really dove in and saw how the music and lyrics intertwined. As an English speaker, I am privileged to have so many musical options in a language I can understand. Even from my days of running Bombworks Records in the early 2000’s, I know how much more marketable a band usually is if they are English first. There are clearly exceptions to this, though generally only at mega scale. But there is also something about hearing a band sing in their native language, particularly when the lyrics and vocals are more emotive and cover deeper, more meaningful topics. In these cases I may not be able to understand the words being sung, but I can still immerse myself and get lost in the vocal melodies while forging a strong connection. That is the beauty of music, transcending boundaries in so many different ways.

This takes me to a band I only recently discovered, Juodvarnis, from Vilnius, Lithuania. They are a progressive metal band that blends the aggression of black metal with the somber melancholy of post metal. And as you may have surmised, all of their lyrics are in Lithuanian. So as I began my listening journey, I just focused on the music and found it impossible not to just settle in and get lost in their melancholic aggression. You can just feel the struggles and challenges, trying to push through the despair and reach the other side. Music is powerful, and I love it when a band can evoke the emotions they want to convey simply through the music and vocal melodies, and Juodvarnis does this so well. After I had given this album multiple listens and was doing some additional research for this review, I discovered the band’s Bandcamp page had English translations for each song. Reading these translations confirmed a lot of what I had suspected, though at this point I cannot imagine the melodies without the syllabic inflections of the Lithuanian language. I do appreciate being able to put some words I do understand to the meaning of these songs, but these songs live and breathe regardless.

Musically, this is built on a multifaceted foundation, with strong roots in progressive metal and post rock. Black metal is woven in regularly, with dark riffs and blasting drums subjecting you to atmospheric aggression. Speaking of atmosphere, it is quite thick at times, providing an ethereal backdrop for the dichotomy of emotion-laden riffs and furious bellicosity. Technical prowess and terrific melodies abound, with dynamic shifts creating rich texture. The vocals alternate between wretched screams and poignant croons, evoking the very emotion mirrored by the heartfelt lyrics. The song compositions are varied yet cohesive, marrying subtle moments with explosive, melding the instruments together in ways that can complement or duel, all to great effect. These 7 songs are fantastic, taking you on an emotional journey that can be as somber as it is heavy.

Opener “Dvasios Ligos” starts out bringing to mind the beautiful brutality of Dawn of Ouroboros. It gallops out of the gate with drums blazing and guitar atmosphere swirling, and then blasts you while maintaining the subdued guitar melody. The vocals come in, snarling and aggressive over post rock notes, bleeding into an ominous black metal riff and a pulverizing drums attack. And this is just the first 90 seconds! The vocals have a tortured feeling, agonizing in the pain they are expressing while the surrounding chord progressions envelope in ominous fashion. The cleans here remind me a bit of An Abstract Illusion, just more harrowing over a proggy doom cadence. One final reprise of the verse is sandwiched between more blackened fury, an incredible start to the album!

“Laikui Varvant” starts with a polyrhythmic melody before melding into a post rock/metal anthem pitting dueling cleans and screams. The chorus continues the duel, featuring edgy cleans with tormented shrieks over a killer melody that is a surprising earworm. We return to the initial polyrhythmic melody, moody and pervasive, beginning to layer in the progressive metal and post rock elements seamlessly with emotion drenched vocals. The vocals reach a tortured breaking point with about two and a half minutes left, yielding to a driving proggy instrumental bridge. The late vocal section features a choir-like atmosphere surrounding the lead before reprising the chorus one final time, leading to a somber ending reflecting the mournful lyrics.

“Tamsiausias Nušvitimas” starts out as a blend of black metal vocals over proggy post rock, creating a moody vibe that is almost doom like, just without the wall of sound. The chorus continues this vibe but switches to cleans, only to rip open a blastbeat assault and an agonizing vocal delivery. The musical mechanics exude pain and uncertainty while searching for meaning, accentuated by the moody atmospheric vibe and distressed vocals. Just over halfway you get a chunky driving riff that also features the album’s first guitar solo. I love the off kilter rhythms embracing the thrashy groove, a progressive heaviness within the storm of pain and suffering.

“Juodos Akys” has the most progressive feel to this point, blending beautiful melodies, polyrhythmic goodness, swirling atmosphere and black metal aggression. It starts with a driving cadence, powerful riffs under tormented vocals, blending atmosphere and slick guitar melodies before slamming you against the wall with its blastbeat fury. A lot of the riffs are downright sinister, dark and somber, as is the fabulous guitar solo just past halfway, conveying the lyrics in musical form. The varied drum rhythms add prog texture, and the surprising ending comes out of nowhere but is super cool.

“Svoris” opens with a nice bass driven riff,  emotional croons in harmony soaring above. This is post metal at its finest, packing plenty of progressive groove while embracing its post rock/hardcore fabric. The chorus is super catchy, oozing emotion as it cries out into the darkness. This is the first song to bias more toward cleans rather than harsh vocals, but the dichotomy works, including pushing an extra rasp into many of the cleans. It isn’t until the latter third that the song briefly lets loose, but more so in a post/emocore fashion, before reprising the earlier melody, leaving you with its bass driven riffing underneath light guitar lead flourishes.

“Platybės” starts out majestic, letting the atmospheric symphonics shine while the guitars and drums crush, only to lay back and deliver heartfelt post rock vibes. Juodvarnis utilizes dynamics so well, both with instruments and the vocal choices. The middle section starts out reminding me of a more atmospheric Soen with the crunchy heft of the guitar riffs, though this quickly shifts to a more tortured post metal vibe. I absolutely love the guitar driven passage ahead of the final vocal outro, building urgency and hope before the final salvo.

The title track closes out the album, starting with open chord strumming that layers in pounding drums and a driving guitar lead that is powerful and majestic. Post rock flavors mix with mid paced blackened doom and progressive riffs, constantly enveloped by the airy orchestration. The vocals sound more hopeful in this song, though you can still feel the despair in the harsher vocals. The keyboards are ominous, a contrast to some of the less somber textures, and the guitar solo in the middle of the song is excellent and works as a fabulous pivot point. The ending is massive, vocals soaring amidst the soulful guitar melodies, before ramping down and returning to the vibe the song began with, somber yet hopeful in its conclusion.

This album continues to grow on me through repeated listens, and I find that I connect with it more while also discovering new things. Emotion soaked, melodic, and full of fury and aggression, “Tékmés” truly delivers, and I am glad I stumbled upon it. Give it a listen and let yourself get immersed in its aggression and beauty.