Genius Ultor - Wiatr

GENIUS ULTOR - Wiatr (CD 2023 - Piekłoniebo)

I definitely did not see that coming. Genius Ultor returns from the abyss with their first album since 2014's "Nic co boskie nie jest mi obce". What a surprise, I have to say, since I've heard nothing about the coming of "Wiatr" or any activity from the band in the past few years at all. But definitely these are some excellent news, because Genius Ultor delivered a truly fantastic and impressive album, which I’ve been intensely listening to for the past few days exclusively and I still have not enough of it. I can say that straight away - “Wiatr” blew me away. And “Wiatr” means wind. It's more like a tornado or something.  

So, eight years since the previous album is a fuckin long time. Wars happened, queens died, Polish heavy metal still sucks. And Genius Ultor music has also changed through that time, I think, but that change may not be as surprising if you’re familiar with Zgorzel’s another project, Túrin Turambar. There’s a lot of similarity between both these bands, I think, this guy definitely has a very characteristic way of arranging the music and his vocals. On their previous albums Genius Ultor sounded more black metal, I think, more aggressive. “Wiatr” has rather little, if anything, in common with that style of music. It actually runs away from any musical categories. Oh, no problem for me, especially if “Wiatr” brings so much diversity. There’s a lot going on in every song. Genius Ultor doesn’t stick to just one type of riffage, explores so much in their music that the contrast may is sometimes quite big. Yet, it gives the music a perfect dynamic feel. I just like how well combined are more aggressive parts balanced with calmer, sort of more progressive stuff – it just sounds great. And at the same time everything sounds consistent, “Wiatr” is not an album, which would take you into too far extreme ends. And Zgorzel’s ideas and arrangements are always top quality, so if there’s a problem with a simple qualification of the music, it’s not a problem at all. I won’t even try to put it in a box with label “X’ or “Y”. I can make some comparisons, but they will not tell you much anyway. For instance, “Prolog [nic tak nie tnie nas jak wiatr]” is almost like Malokarpatan or Master’s Hammer. It’s fast, aggressive, but it also has some bizarre riffs, which normally you would hate, but they work here great. “Koń turyński” is my favourite song. It’s the longest track, a 15 minutes long monolith, but I absolutely love everything about this song. And there’s “Szlachetny metal”, the most melodic and maybe a bit sorrowful piece, with excellent, clean vocals mixed with that harsh, vicious scream. What a mesmerizing piece of music. And what a great production! It's also one of the factors, which indicate how unique this album is. 

I am not sure if “Wiatr” will speak to everyone. This music may seem to be quite difficult to get into, especially the non-Polish listeners may have troubles when they will try to confront themselves with “Wiatr”. But maybe I am exaggerating things, because personally “Wiatr” caught my attention right away and from the first spin it caught me hard. I sincerely recommend “Wiatr”, for me it will definitely be one of the best 2023 albums, but do not take it for granted that it will be up your street as well. Take the challenge though. 

Standout track: “Koń turyński”, “Szlachetny metal” 

Verdict: 90/100

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