It is not often Slovenia makes itself heard on the international metal scene. Indeed there seems to be barely over a hundred active metal bands today, according to Metal Archives. Among these one hundred bands are Cvinger; A band that remained a trio from its conception in 2012 until 2014, where founding member Lucerus gave up his bass-duties to focus on vocals, the roll of bassist being filled by Skalph.
Traditionally schooled, their reliance upon the by now almost archaic customs of second wave black metal weighs in as the most prominent feature of Cvinger. Monastery of Fallen builds confidently on a foundation of cascading torrents of furious blast beats set to the devout teachings of ruthless tremolo riffs, with Lucerus' vocals chiming in with the raw doctrines of every black metal curse and lyrical subject in the book, including - but not limited to - death, anti-christianity, blasphemy, darkness and misanthropy.
Cvinger's gravitation toward the old news of black metal means there's little enjoyment from originality to be had on Monastery of Fallen. Incessant pyres of hatred and decay aside, the 20-minute EP doesn't so much feel like the satanic apex predator it appears like as it does an aging beast nearing extinction, lazily dangling around at the bottom of the food chain, whilst leisurely grazing at the once-green pastures of tirelessly re-used ideas.
The faintest gusts of originality come at the behest of the rich monk-like chants that intermediate and close the EP. It is an element that comes a bit more unexpected than the rest of the obvious second wave worship presented on the release, and it is a very welcome sight on the sea of generic blast beats and mediocre tremolos that Cvinger have set sail upon. Even so, with all their fervor and all their might, the eight tracks of unholy black metal on Monastery of Fallen have not produced one single noteworthy song. Cvinger relies too heavily on elements that are only great when paired with arduous songwriting, and the roaring riffs found here linger only for seconds in their boring habitat among the deepest notes on the fretboard, never daring to seek the adventures of higher notes or more audacious melodies. 5/10 guitars.
Tracklist:
1. Chapter One: Into the Depths of Arcane Sanctuary
2. Blaspherion
3. Among the Crucified
4. Salvation in the Darkest Wrath
5. Chapter Two: Of Ashes and Dust
6. In Thy Kingdom's Shadow
7. Monastery of Fallen
8. Chapter Three: Amen
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