Neolith – Inbir

Thechopstickdrummer

Sixth grade was fun. Yes, the year situated itself right in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but hell, at least we learned about the ancient Egyptians! Both historians and metalheads share a mutual infatuation with past civilizations, as reflected in the metal community by strong devotees–Nile, South Carolina’s best output since sweet tea, and Polish mainstay NEOLITH, come to mind first. Since 1991, the latter has been eviscerating, desiccating, and wrapping the people of Poland and beyond in linen with a classic combination of death and black metal. Inbir, meaning “war” in Sumerian (widening their scope of ancient societies, I see), is the band’s sixth installment of this threatening sound, so I’d better get listening and lamenting about its potential shortcomings before I’m ḫȝtb*

Inbir is a sturdy record that can withstand even the earthquakes of Geb, the god of the Earth. The Egyptians rumored that if the ground shook, Geb was laughing. Geb could chortle as hard as he could, and Inbir wouldn’t move because NEOLITH condenses a lifetime’s worth of blackened death metal into its forty-minute runtime. It’s a below-average duration for an LP, and the songs are all fairly substantial in length, but the journey leaves you languid. NEOLITH displays a substantial understanding of how to craft bombastic and tightly executed music, allotting both black and death metal moments for the spotlight. Mesopotamian music goddesses Ninatta and Kulitta would approve of the record’s substantiality, yet they’d most likely call Nergal to restrain the emanating war-like atmosphere.

When the band breaks from code-switching with various ancient languages and sticks to its mother tongue, Polish, the black metal unleashes at full force. Since Poland is one of the most affluent contributors to the scene, this reinvigoration of blackened sensibilities is unsurprising and most definitely welcome. “Modlitwa na Marny Czas” is sadly the only piece titled in Polish, yet it exudes Semuss’s best drumwork, delicately arranged yet satisfyingly cult; vocalist Levi’s best-controlled screams, which are on par with his gutturals, albeit used more frequently; and hymnal Polish chanting, which opens and closes the track on a suitably eerie note. NEOLITH’s death metal-oriented offerings are of lesser note than their blackened material, signaling that the group is always leaning towards church-burning rather than body-hacking.

I quite like the aesthetics and overall presentation of the record, too. The album artwork (Artur Szolc) reminded me more of News From Babel or Ruins-esque visuals, but there’s no avant-prog here: just beefy, enjoyable metal. The melodic tendencies, especially in the second half of the album, are paced finely, but could benefit from more originality. The run from “Of All the Gods” to “The Dawn is Waking” led to periods of scrolling social media or daydreaming out of need for stimulation, which I wasn’t getting as much of compared to earlier cuts like the opener, which throws around breakneck guitar solos and tectonic chugs. Still, I’m very impressed to hear that NEOLITH is nevertheless pumping out solid, topical releases after over three decades.

* “To be killed” in Egyptian. Crazy language, amirite?

Label: Deformeathing Production

Release date: 12th September, 2026

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Deformeathing

Country: Poland

Score: 3.5/5.0