Pręgierz are a very young duo from Poland that wrote, recorded and released a first demo, called Blood Sanctions, in Summer 2014, though this one being independently released on tape. About eight months later, Sweden’s finest Blood Harvest re-release that material, though this time on vinyl. The result is a double 7”EP, with 100 copies on white-red vinyl, and 200 on regular black vinyl.
Side A of the first single on Blood Sanctions opens with the scarifying and horrific intro Dawn Of Horror, but unfortunately I’ve experienced hundreds of introductions that are much more intriguing and suffocative than this one. But actually it’s as from Shallow Grave that things turn the interesting way. The song stands for a somewhat Crust-laden form of Old School Death Metal, with inclusion of hints from both the Black and the Horror Metal scene. The other tracks too (Cierpietnica, Crawling Abomination and the truly mighty, bleak and doomish [for sure, convincingly, my favorite pièce d’art on this double vinyl edition] Purification In Fire) bring a same-minded form of energetic, rhythmic, fast-paced and heavy form of late eighties / early nineties-oriented Death Metal.
The production, unfortunately, could have been much better. I am afraid the minor sound quality detracts from the necessary and needed massiveness, and that surely is a pity, I think. Drum patterns, piano / synth / acoustic guitars (cf. Purification In Fire) and additional samples are on the foreground within the mix, but all string arrangements are way too hollow, too muddy, too far away. And the vocals too are not prominent enough, despite being of quite a great level…
But anyway, fans of both the American and the Swedish Horror-Death scene especially will intimately adore this bloody piece of sadistic ear drum molestation. My final score, for what it’s worth, could have been much higher in case the studio duties were better – something to consider for the upcoming next release (in case there is one in the making?)…