If you know me, then you know that my love for folk metal is a jaded one. Not often enough do bands really immerse themselves in what the sound can really become as we’re constantly met with bands that put forth decent enough efforts, but they oftentimes feel like nothing more than half-measures in the grand scheme of it all. When a band really goes for it and embodies what folk metal can be then we’re constantly presented with a creation that stands out from all the rest. It has been some time since a straightforward work of the sound has caught my eye, but it is once again from the reaches of East Europe that I find myself before an act that isn’t just competent, but experts at their mystical craft.

I’m not sure what it is exactly about this section of Europe that is able to continuously dish out folk metal that is actually worthwhile, but I’m not complaining in the slightest! It is on a pretty consistent basis that we’re able to expect material from its reaches that are always able to deliver the goods that we’re always craving for but seldom get, and it is now Meschera’s turn to show us what their made of with their first full-length creation anything but a disappointment. “Zhatva” makes it clear that this is a work where beauty and majesty is at the forefront of the effort while it’s the instrumentations that truly drive home just how masterful Meschera already is at their craft. At every turn through this album whether it’s driven by gorgeously soaring vocals, subtle but tremendously done use of traditional folk instruments, or the riffs that bring the very forest spirits into the fray, Meschera’s massive collective catalog of past experience in other bands and genres comes into play to a stupendous degree such that “Zhatva” enables the band to skip right past an awkward phase where they stumble a bit to figure things out. Rather, Meschera is already a force that is not to be underestimated! The flames flicker bright and the cacophony of the ancient world is still strong should you seek it out as “Zhatva” unveils before your paltry modern mindset that is wholly unaware for the initiations that are about to take place to bring you into the coven of Meschera.

Once you surrender control to them and allow “Zhatva” to work its druidic wonder where your mind is taken to a realm that only the most accomplished of folk metal acts are able to tap into. The music on display here is always at peak condition without so much as a single fault to be had throughout the performance that I can find no matter how many times I circle the same woods. Meschera enchants the very leaves to sing their praises, and it’s once you listen to the will of the ancient realms fully that you’ll understand the majesty of what’s been put forth here. Plenty throughout the genre have tried their best to succeed like this, but incredibly few are able to even on a level half as magnificent as this.

LISTEN to “Zhatva” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Meschera on Facebook here.