Genre/Influences: Martial, experimental, dark-ambient.        

Background/Info: Polish martial project Jowisz released this album in 2018 as a successor to the “Trench Rat’s Banquet”-album released in 2016. The influences are once again getting us back to WWI and the horror of the trenches covered with mud, rats and death soldiers. 

Content: This album definitely sounds complementary with the previous release. Jowisz again brings the horror of war to life. Spoken samples and old Polish folk chants sung by the soldiers in the trenches have been alternated by heavy explosions of bombs and the noise of rifles. You get the impression of being on the battlefield and the state of terror has been only accentuated by the dark-ambient atmospheres merged with repetitive tones.

+ + + : This is another work tickling our fantasy to recreate images of war and terror. The sound formula remains exactly the same as at the previous album. Jowisz has assembled an impressive number of samplings, noises and dark atmospheres. It makes me think to a sonic painting, which in a way totally fits with the front cover of the digipak. This work is much more than simply martial music; it’s a mix between different related genres with ‘darkness’ as common element.

– – – : I get a bit of a similar feeling as on other Jowisz productions. The production reveals an impressive strength of sounds, noises and samplings, but never reaches an ultimate point of astonishment.

Conclusion: Jowisz brings the terror of WWI to life with a poignant sonic exposure.

Best songs: “Everyone Have Their Own Gallipoli”, “In The Cage Of Shell Shock”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/jowiszofficial   

About Jowisz

Jowisz is a Polish martial and dark-ambient solo-project that surfaced in 2015 with the cassette “The Plague Of War” on Werewolf Promotion, followed in 2016 by the EP “And Only Ruins” and this album’s predecessor. In 2018 a track also appeared on the compilation “The EAA (Eurasian Artists Association) Presents: From Eurasia With Love” via ThuleSehnsucht Production, and in 2019 Jowisz paired with H.ø.s.t. for the split release “Ages Of Determination” and self-released the demo “The Rat Carnival”.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Martial, experimental, dark-ambient.       

Background/Info: Jowisz is a Polish solo-project I earlier this year discovered on the split-album together with H.ø.s.t. “Ages Of Determination”. The artist send me some earlier work, “Trench Rat’s Banquet” being released in 2016. The work of Jowisz is inspired by ‘the history, art and war, especially the World War One in all of its meaning; from the muds of trenches, to the bloodlust of events, sorrows and heroism of the soldiers’.

Content: The work perfectly reflects the imagery of WWI and the life of the soldiers in the trenches. Jowisz recreates this universe by the use of numerous samplings, and also by a self-constructed arsenal of noises and dark atmospheres. The album has a strong visual appeal creating the illusion to watch a movie without images, but only with sounds. Some minimal electronic treatments can be heard while another track features church bells like announcing the imaginary requiem of the poor victims. 

+ + + : The visual strength of this album is absolutely impressive. But that’s also created due to numerous samplings –and I here especially like some soldier songs, but also thanks to the efforts of the artists using a wide sonic canvas. The artwork and digipak format of the album is also a bonus.

– – – : This album is missing a climax; there’s a lot to experience and discover, but not leading us to a total apotheosis.

Conclusion: This work makes me think of a sonic documentary instead of a music release, but it however is an interesting experience.

Best songs: “The Crawling Horror – In Tribute For Mark I)”, “Polen KampfKult”, “Trench Rat’s Banquet”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/jowiszofficial   

About Jowisz

Jowisz is a Polish martial and dark-ambient solo-project. Discogs lists a first cassette, “The Plague Of War”, in 2015 on Werewolf Promotion, followed in 2016 by the EP “And Only Ruins” and this album. The project continued in 2018 with the sequel “Trench Rat’s Banquet II”, and in 2019 with the H.ø.s.t. split and a self-released demo.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Martial, dark-ambient, industrial.

Background/Info: “Ages Of Determination” is a split release featuring two Polish projects dealing with dark-military music. They both previously released some solo-productions.

Content: Inspired by W.W.I. Jowisz takes off with 4 tracks. We’re clearly entering into a military sound universe dominated by sampled noises from the battlefields, folk songs and National hymns. This atmosphere has been supported with dark sound treatments.

H.ø.s.t. doesn’t sound that different in sound and global approach. We now can recognize extracts from speeches by Churchill, Hitler ao. And here again this terror atmosphere has been reinforced by dark noises and sound treatments.

+ + + : I’m not always a huge fan of split-releases, but both bands clearly share a common interest and music approach. You even get the impression to hear the same artist. The composition has a strong visual appeal of the horror on the battlefields while it also has something disturbing. But in the end that’s precisely the effect we expect when listening to this kind of work.

– – – : Both projects reveal very good ideas and an accomplished production, but I’m missing a climax.

Conclusion: Imagery can be shocking, but when music stimulates the brain to create a very own imagery it can even become more shocking. This is an interesting split release between two noticeable Polish projects.

Best songs: “The Franco Prussian War”, “Siege 1944”, “Niedobschütz 1945”.

Rate: (7).

Artists: www.facebook.com/jowiszofficial / www.facebook.com/hosttotalwar

About Jowisz and H.ø.s.t.

Jowisz and H.ø.s.t. are two Polish acts working in martial and dark-ambient territory. “Ages Of Determination” is a split limited to 100 copies on Spatha Production. Jowisz continued on the same WWI-themed path later in 2019 with a full album, “Trench Rat’s Banquet”.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com