Olhava blends Black Metal and Shoegaze into an epic, face-melting proposition on the track “Smoldering Woodland” off the band’s new LP Ladoga. The project is based out of Saint Petersburg, Russia and it is comprised of TRNA members guitarist Andrey Novozhilov and drummer Timur Yusupov. The pair’s new 9-track effort follows up on last year’s self-titled release and like its predecessor it was mixed and mastered by Somn-member Mikhail Kurochkin.
Ladoga‘s structure alternates briefer atmospheric tracks with massive long-form cuts like “Smoldering Woodland.” With only guitar, vocals, and drums, Novozhilov and Yusupov create staggeringly total music that seems to envelop the listener in a full spectrum of frequencies all at once. From this seemingly endless wall of sound, the track’s vocals issue forth like a spectral wind. The result is music so all-encompassing that it has the amazing ability to resolve its sonic chaos in a totaling oblivion.
