Well I decreed a bit of a mission in reviewing at least one band a month from the Ukraine and following on from Quintessence Mystica and Khors, this time round let me introduce Balfor. The group are hardly prolific and despite being around since 1997 they have to date only released three spread out demos before being signed up by Singapore label Pulverised for this their debut album. To date they have already gone through numerous drummers and guitarists before settling on the current quartet making up the horde and surprisingly for bands from this country they have not been in countless other groups as well but just a scant three, none of which I have heard of before.
There is a clue in the title of the album and this lot do have a distinct barbarian edge about them. The intro piece ‘From The Ashes (The Beginning)’ sounds as if it could have been lifted from a Conan movie as it austerely bristles like the part of a film where legions are poised to fall into battle. The attack comes with heavyset guitar riffs and slow pummelling drums as ‘Behold My Hate!’ is borne. Vocals gruffly roar in with beastly intent and I am flung into some cleaving battle metal without the slightest hint of any folkish nonsense. This mixes elements of blackened death together quite nicely and it does so with little in the way of mercy. As the album progresses there is not a fantastic amount of variation it simply conquers by might rather than any atmosphere, crushing skulls as it relentlessly marches onwards. Occasional leads and a good grasp of melody add depth and this is a good enough exercise and does nothing particularly wrong but on the whole, no doubt having been spoiled from the countries other bands, I do find this a bit on the workmanlike side. Having said that it would be rude to let this put me off entirely as a song like ‘Pure Barbaric’ does what it says and does so with a dynamic flair, it is almost as though the song has put a spark back in the album and there are certainly times when things do deliver the required attack.
Balfor do their best to keep things interesting, the slower ‘Kingdoms Blood’ blows some horns and although not enough to topple any walls their presence is duly noted. Last song ‘The Perfect Fire’ having hardly broken pace from the song before it does also manage to surprise a little with some unexpected Borknagar sounding clean croons. Perhaps these could have been present a touch more on the album but they certainly are effective here and a bit of a welcome respite just before the album ends. So I am pretty much sitting on the fence here, although ‘Barbaric Blood’ is by no means a bad album it did not blow me away at all, still there is no reason I why I might not end up eating my words by the time they deliver their next full length, that is if its not another 14 years in the making.
http://www.myspace.com/balforhorde
