Most of the time when I have an encounter with bands from Russia, they have some specific vibe to their music. Probably, the usage of their native language might partly have something to do with that, though this is not the main factor probably. It’s hard to describe it in words. Not that it is very fascinating or appealing, but it’s different. This is especially felt in Black Metal coming from Eastern Europe. It seems as if there is an attempt to create a sort of hypnotic aspect and at the same time trying to drown the listener into melancholy soaked atmosphere. One could probably say this just about any Atmospheric Black Metal band, but I believe Eastern Europeans have their own approach, quite different from let’s say German or French bands for instance. This is the exact case with Epitimia from Saint Petersburg, a relatively young band, presenting their third full-length. Their music could be classified as mildly experimental slow Atmospheric Black Metal, with some moderate Post-Rock influences. And while the music is more or less decent in that matter, though, being a bit too primitive and seemingly underdeveloped in some places, the whole experience is greatly ruined by the unbalanced mix of the record.

“Faces of Insanity” sounds just flat and that’s its main flaw. Given that it is an Atmospheric Metal band, it is rather unjustifiable that there is a lack of room and wideness, which is so required for this sort of music. Everything sounds as if was rendered in mono, except for the drums, and this decision sounds more than strange. Enough said, technical issues sometimes might just diminish the perception of essence and compromise the idea of what the band wants to deliver. Probably this album would have given much more than it did due to this obstacle. Hopefully the guys from Epitimia will consider this aspect to be not so unimportant in their future recordings.

Reviewed by: Skol