Vicious, hateful Black Metal in the vein of Carpathian Forest, Evilfeast, Satyricon and the like are what Bohemian Dark Metal from the Czech Republic's Avenger is all about. Savage riffing alternates with tremolo picking and the blast-beat drums round out the hellish atmosphere through which vocalist Honza Kapák howls and rasps like someone possessed. Most of the songs on Bohemian Dark Metal are going to sound familiar to fans of the second wave of Black Metal but as someone who doesn't listen to a ton of this music, I can say Jaroslav Pelán's Timpani adds a horrifying and unique element to Avenger's music. Try to picture yourself as one of the damned working on some infernal construction project in Hell while some fiend pounds out the rhythm of the work on enormous drums.

Avenger has taken what can sometimes be a rather stale sound and added something different, giving their music a reason to be heard amidst the background noise. That the band plays Black Metal as well as any doesn't hurt. Disturbingly well done, Black Metal fans shouldn't miss Bohemian Dark Metal.