Nav (pronounced "nuh-vj") is a band of drummer/vocalist Izbor, who is a fellow coconspirator of Old Wainds and was a guest musician on their "Zdes Nikogda Ne Shodyat Snega" album. Similarly, Morok and Kull of Old Wainds contributed their guitar and bass skills for this project.

Unsurprisingly, both bands share the same affinity for the old school Norwegian black metal and sound rather similar to each other. In case of Nav, Immortal's "Pure Holocaust" is a main reference point. While "Ghimn Holodnomu Bezmolviyu" doesn't stand a chance of eclipsing Immortal's classic, Nav is one of the fewer third wave black metal bands who know how to capture the true essence of cold, Northern darkness, and that's exactly what they do.

Brutality of the band's extremely harsh and cold, constantly boiling sound is exacerbated by a very primitive, uncouth production. "Pure Holocaust" certainly was very raw and brutal, but it was also well recorded and intricately layered. Nav obviously had to grapple with limited technical possibilities, so their production is rugged and fluctuating. At the same time, much like with Immortal, you can still detect fragile, obscure traces of melody and atmosphere buried deep within the chaos, behind the maelstrom of noise. I must warn you again that it's all done in a rather primitive and somewhat messy way, but the right feel and spirit are certainly there, and even when Izbor throws in a short acoustic track at the end, it doesn't take away from the overall impact.

Someone can easily dismiss this band as a poor man's Immortal, and it would be hard to argue with that. Nonetheless, if raw Northern blackness is what you live for, I think this would still be a decent acquisition.

© 2000 boris