Matraque - Nature Morte

Matraque is an extreme metal band from Belarus, who formed in 2023.  Their new release “Nature Morte,” is their debut full-length album. Their sound combines doom with death metal and sludge.  All their lyrics are sung in Belarusian, but that doesn’t matter because no one can understand what is being said anyway—good, just how I like it.  

This is a really dark, extreme album.  If you don’t like abrasive music, then look elsewhere.  Have fun, you giant whining bummer.  For the rest of us with actual taste, this album will provide endless nightmares in the best way possible. 

The tempo is, overall, a slow roll of sludge laced doom that sounds like it was scooped out of a bin for throwaway organs at a hospital.  The guitars and bass are both the kind of sweltering heaviness that borders on surreal in a hypnotic, desperate way.  The drums are loud, rising above the blood drenched muck without being overbearing.  

The album opens with the eleven and a half minute dirge “Kola.”  Little time is wasted before the song is already pounding out my headphones and into my brain.  It’s unrelenting but in a way that I just can’t stop listening to—I want to see what else is coming for me around the corner.  So what is it?  Caustic, profane doom metal that just doesn’t stop.  The middle part of the song is born out of an atmosphere that is hard to describe but unforgettable.  As the song ends, it kind of fades out like the ending of violence, the carnage seeping in so that all is lost is captured in a grisly moment.

“Pustazelle,” takes the sound from the previous song and expands on it, albeit in a shorter way at just under 9 minutes.  The opening is brutal, the riffs pummeling outwards, then hanging back a bit, just to hit another time.  If someone beat me with a sack of rocks, it might sound like this song.  The vocals are gross (compliment) and push the song to levels of profanity that’s hard to think about.  The band interjects bursts of speed here and there….absolutely ravaging! But they return to the doom, letting the atmosphere sink in like never before. 

The next song, “Malimon,” and the final song “Pry’ py’ nak,” seem to act like intro and outros the eleven minute beast “Volya,” that’s stuck in between them.  The three songs together make for a sterling assignment of what it means to be true extreme metal.  It’s noisy, violent, unfiltered, raw and unwilling to compromise on anything other than crushing your soul. 

“Volya,” is brought to life with very well played drums that are atmospheric while still creating an undercurrent of rhythm prowess that makes the song even more deadly.  This song has it all: ambient moments of liminal spaces, random strange noises, speed, and even what might be considered melody for a band of this style. 

Doom metal is the best genre in the world and music like Matraque’s “Nature Morte,” makes me happy which probably says a lot of weird, wrong things about me.  People shouldn’t enjoy music like this, should they?  Of course they should.  This album is highly recommended for anyone who likes music that stays as far away as possible from anything that could remotely be considered mainstream and safe.  

Rating: Great