REVIEW: Varahara - ПЕРВЫЙ ВЗДОХ ПОСЛЕ (The First Breath After)

Swinging in full force with their slavic roots, Varhara is finally bringing their highly anticipated third album ПЕРВЫЙ ВЗДОХ ПОСЛЕ (The First Breath After). Originating from Saint Petersburg in Russia, the band formed in 2019, consisting of the drummer Vladimir Ogoltelov, guitarist Ekaterina Balyantseva, bassist and vocalist Igor Bely, and guitarist and keyboardist Alexander Kalinin, and since then has been surprising listeners across the world with their approach to shoegaze and atmospheric black metal.

Andrey Novozhilov

The band’s latest project is made of six different tracks, all sang in the entirety in their native Russian language. “Smola”, the first track, and “Uragan”, the second one, are explosions of angry drums, piercing through the subtle sounding guitars. Bely’s urgent-sounding vocals are complementing the overall sound with his screams. The band mastered the art of emotional breakdowns and atmospheric tension in their songs, as the listeners can especially appreciate in “Uragan”.

The following songs “Iskra”, and the title-track “Pervij Vzdokh Posle”, however, are leaning even more towards the atmospheric, and sometimes almost symphonic side of Varhara’s discography, showing off more Balyantseva and Kalinin’s ability to capture moments and create scenes with their instruments, while Ogoltelov’s bass drum keeps on telling the stories of the past. While “Iskra” is dependent on Bely”s vocals, that are helping to keep the narrative alive, “Pervij Vzdokh Posle” is an instrumental piece, relying solemnly on the energetic guitars and brumming bass, that is very prominent throughout the whole song, building the soundscape brick by brick.

In the contrast with the previous songs, “Prazdnik” and “Burial”, the last two songs on the album, are heavier in their nature, exhibiting more shoegaze elements. The guitar distortions are more pronounced in “Prazdnik”, giving it sort of “doomsday” feel compared to the narrative-like sound of “Iskra”. “Prazdnik” is by far one of the heaviest tracks of the album, and it is evident that Varhara did not hold back with the heaviness on this track, from the already mentioned distortions to the fast-working bass drums and angry cymbals. On the other hand, “Burial” sounds almost uplifting, compared to the previous songs, with the clever usage of distortion, while also maintaining the atmospheric aspect of the band’s style, sounding almost hopeful, which is ironic with the song’s title. It can be interpreted as a new journey after death, new beginnings and perhaps new life. The track is indeed a perfectly picked departure from The First Breath After.

The album has fulfilled many expectations, and is a great piece of music. The alteration between the band’s styles is on point and keeps the listeners engaged throughout the project, offering new perspectives with each song. Although there is a downside of no transitions between the songs, making the listening experience slightly packed and sometimes overwhelming, the album is still a solid piece with greatly executed riffs and mesmerising vocals, that are sure to make one stay on their feet.

Score: 8/10

Words: Katerina Stepanikova

Varhara’s new album is coming out on 20th June via These Hands Melt.