BELLE MORTE
Pearl Hunting
Wormholedeath
BELLE MORTE have created something really special here for their second album. Formed in Minsk, Belarus in 2015, BELLE MORTE released an EP in 2018 and their debut album, “Crime Of Passion”, came out in 2021. They were both an excellent intro in to what was to come and they have only built upon those releases which has led to an exceptional sophomore release in “Pearl Hunting”.
It’s no mean feat to be able to craft an album filled with songs that are unique enough to stand out in a genre filled with bands, let alone crafting one as amazing as “Pearl Hunting” and to do it with as many guest musicians as they did, is truly outstanding. They have taken symphonic metal and infused it with instruments from all around the world. We have, at last count, 23 different instruments played by 17 guests (plus a vocalist) from 12 different countries, astonishing!
The sheer amount of effort poured into these songs can be heard right from the offset when the title track opens up the album with Anastasia’s hauntingly beautiful voice luring us in like a siren from the deep. The tribal drums, ethnic instruments and choirs all join in before things slow down and we jump into a more traditional sounding symphonic metal song in “Fallen Idol”. It doesn’t take long for the song to spice things up though and there is a very interesting melody line introduced when the ethnic instruments come in, it’s almost dissonant and gives the song a new depth which works really well.
“Exorcism” starts off with a very Japanese inspired melody, which is really beautiful yet almost sad in nature as the ethnic instruments really set the tone well here before it builds with rising drums, then guitars and bass which lead us into the chorus where the song bursts into life like a Sakura in spring, it’s a real highlight of the album.
“Blame Me” then escorts us to the door of what can only be described as a smoky, candlelit piano bar with it’s very jazzy opening, only this bar holds a dark secret and we soon get a shift when the song takes a fantastically dark turn with some harsh vocals, haunting melodies courtesy of more ethnic instruments, and a wonderful drum performance by Rostislav Golubnichiy full of interesting fills and flair.
The dual guitars of the two Ilya’s (Rogovoy and Petrashkevich) are really well balanced along with Sergey Butovsky’s bass, one never outshines the others yet they all get their moments throughout the album without smothering the songs or being too high in the mix where they drown out everything else. So hat’s off to the mixing, mastering and production teams as they have done a fantastic job, especially considering all of the other instruments involved. Maria Shumanskaya’s keyboards are so understated yet add so much to the tracks with their little flairs here, intricate and delicate pieces there and just being really great at creating atmosphere.
“September” is probably the strongest song on the album with its oud (Middle-Eastern short-neck lute) and saz (long-necked stringed instrument) performances from Portuguese multi-instrumentalist Rúben Monteiro, really injecting a Middle Eastern flair to the track. The guitars lay a solid foundation for Rúben to ‘riff’ and solo over with the keys and vocals adding such a wonderful uplifting atmosphere.
Album closer is a fantastic acoustic / piano version of “Exorcism” which strips the song down to its core, but it is the penultimate track that really brings everything home. “Krew“ (blood in English) is a song about the terrible war in Ukraine and how it affected so many people. The song is sung in three languages, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Polish with two guests, Alex Pilkevych and Ada Rusinkiewicz, whilst a third guest, Yaroslav Dzhus, plays the bandura (a Ukrainian plucked-string-folk instrument) and it highlights the blood bonds that unites us and the innocent blood that has been shed in the war.
The album has been described as one filled with unconventional metal fusions, but this is exactly what makes it stand out. Art is subjective, not everyone likes the same things, which makes for good debates and sometimes disagreements. But when so many people come together and create something as wonderful as this, it just shows how strong we can be. This is a truly mesmerising piece of art, one which the whole band and all of the guests should be immensely proud of.
Russell Mulock-Bentley