Few things can compare to when you stumble across a work that not only catches your attention but also manages to surpass any and all expectations you may have had when you first sat down to initiate your search. Whenever I sit down to comb through the underground, I truly never know what I’ll find. Lately, luck has been putting me before black metal more often than not, and I thought surely that streak would come to an end soon, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if not. Coming upon the first album from the Polish entity Kra, the streak has been continued in magnificent fashion.

When dealing with names such as this which are particularly obscure with little to go off of for someone like me who likes a little bit of background knowledge when preparing for a review, the term “anything is possible” is but the tip of the spear. Sometimes, it can be frustrating as I simply want to know more. However, sometimes it works in the band’s favor as if the lack of knowledge makes them even more so one with the shadow their craft is spawned from. For the absolute entirety of the eight tracks that adorn its first album, “Pogrzebanych Nocą Złudzeń” (“Buried in the Night of Illusions” if Google is to be believed (can you tell I’m not Polish?)), Kra has put forth a performance that offers nothing less than immense justice to black metal that thrives on the very floor of the underground. Infused with more than a little bit of death metal, this album packs one hell of a punch in every instance. Kra offers a vicious whirlwind of darkness and misanthropy the likes of which hearken to the very core of what black metal has long been when it’s simply allowed to be, allowed to spread its tendrils far beyond the void to corrupt as much as it can. “Pogrzebanych Nocą Złudzeń” is far from a revolutionary work that will change how we view the genre, but it’s in practically every form that it does a tremendous job in putting Kra on the map, showing us what this band is already capable of.

With immense power and undeniable focus, this work promises greatness from Kra should the band roll with the momentum this album has offered them. The underground is home to many names with Kra being but one of thousands. “Pogrzebanych Nocą Złudzeń” is likely to go under the radar of many, but I would implore you to investigate this album as soon as you can. Black metal that offers no reprieve and seeks naught but total conquest, “Pogrzebanych Nocą Złudzeń” is a vicious performance that is hopefully the first of many offensives from Kra.

LISTEN to “Pogrzebanych Nocą Złudzeń” on Bandcamp here.

FOLLOW Kra on Instagram here.