Metalcatto
Hrob isn’t for people who want to have a good time. What do I mean by that? Well, if you listen to thirty seconds of Brána Chladu, you’ll understand right away that the band is trying to inflict as much emotional damage as possible. Just like your parents. Anyway, I wasn’t ready for this sorrowful ride, but that doesn’t mean I was going to chicken out.
This is as oppressive and cold as it seems. Brána Chladu delivers a pretty unique type of Doom—one that, more than being about your own pesky depression, focuses on atrocities committed long ago but still remembered by those who survived them. That’s what Hrob is making us feel here. As you can see, there’s nothing funny about that, which is okay. Not every review needs to have a joke, especially with tracks named after genocide. Yay.
What really caught my attention on Brána Chladu is the fact that the drums just don’t comply with the usual Doom narrative. The typical approach is basically the drummer hitting the same things every full moon. Here, the cymbal work is peculiar to say the least—unpredictable, almost restless in a genre built on stillness. But don’t worry, the rest of the instruments are doing their absolute best to remind you why this is some of the most depressing music out there. The guitars drone and crush in equal measure, and the vocals sound like they’re being excavated from a mass grave.
There are a few things that didn’t fully click with me. It wasn’t even the length of the tracks—that’s fine this time, wow, I actually said it. The issue is more that I have a hard time remembering any specific part of the tracks after they’re over. They just blur together into a sea of agony and injustice. You might dig that level of immersive despair, but I personally need something that sticks. A reviewer’s brain is full of random albums at any given moment. It’s hard to stand out in that clutter, and that’s not totally Hrob‘s fault.
Despite this thing catching me off guard, Brána Chladu was a worthy challenge. It has all the horrors you’d want from a war Metal album but filtered through the hopelessness of a more traditional Death/Doom approach. Yet it never comes close to anything mellow or comforting. It sticks to a raw and grounded aesthetic throughout, refusing to offer easy catharsis or melodic handholds. The atmosphere is suffocating in the best way possible, even if the individual moments don’t always linger in memory. Okay, enough big words. The album is fine, and that will do for now.
Label: Memento Mori / Night Terrors
Release date: 27 April, 2026
Website: hrob.bandcamp.com
Country: Slovakia
Score: 3.5/5.0
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