Sněť V bažinách vědomí Review
Sněť
V bažinách vědomí
Me Saco Un Ojo Records / Dark Descent Records
2026
Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic) probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when discussing vital and vibrant metal scenes in Europe. But it actually has a thriving network of DIY bands, labels, zines and venues. It's safe to assume that countrymen Sněť utilizes these underground resources heavily and successfully if their second full length V bažinách vědomí is any indicator.
After their first album in 2021 and two splits, this quintet of OSDM purists began work on the album we are currently discussing. It's a cavernous, creepy affair with what I can only describe as a suffocating and ominous aura. Řád Zdechlin (vocals) has a reverberated lo-fi deep guttural growl throughout, while his band mates (Krutörr – drums, Hnisatel – guitars, Hrdlořez – bass and Ransolič – guitars) churn out low tuned and eerie death doom dirges behind him. The production is guitar-forward, bottom-heavy and caveman-ish. The band forgo any modern sensibilities here, opting for a more organic live sound. I'm all for it, as the lifeless and overly quantized perfect Pro Tools mixes seem to be the standard now, so it's nice to hear something so undeniably raw and grim. The heavily distorted low guitars sit perfectly with the gnarly and sometimes distorted bass, and the evenly mixed drums and impossibly low gurgles of Zdechlin. No one goes unheard or is overly loud here. Kudos to Hive Studio for the recording by Amák Golden and mixing and mastering by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios.
For the songs themselves, they are precise and lethal. They kick right in with opener “Tíha světů” providing eerie atmosphere and tarpit pacing from the word go. Sněť exist in the space where 90's death metal (Incantation/Myrhic) meets more modern death/doom like Temple of the Void and to a lesser degree, Funebrarum. They're not afraid to add in curious sound effects (“Znetvořená panna”) or the occasionally minor harmonized guitars, reverb-drenched leads and surprisingly busy single note riffs. What also sets them apart is their ability to shift tempos from mournfully slow to double-kick-led gallops, mid-paced breakdowns and the occasional blast passage, sometimes within the space of the same song (“Kladivo ve tmě”). Heartening back to those early 90's moments, they also toss in long held out chords layered under single note lead runs that are downright depressed and evil sounding, like Hooded Menace and Swedes Entombed, Dismember and Bloodbath. You won't be required to dedicate 50 plus minutes to this either as most albums of this ilk. A scant 35 minutes and 55 seconds is all Sněť require to lay waste to everything in their path, drawing us a bleak and scowling picture. Utterly nightmarish, forlorn and undeniably crushing, V bažinách vědomí is apocalyptic brutality and menacing death/doom for the end times….
RIYL- Incantation, Hooded Menace, Demigod, Grave, Bloodbath, Funebrarum
~TB