Thanks to this reviewing thingy, I'm already familiar with a few great Lithuanian bands - for some reason, the majority of those promos are pagan or thrashy black metal. Poccolus can be tagged as black metal, too, but truly of an other format. Not the energetic, stampeding pagan metal I was imagining at first. Nope, this trio obeys the teachings of the old school masters (the sheet does claim "for fans of Burzum and Bathory").
Rather slow-paced and with an undefined atmosphere, Poccolus appeals to a core of raw black metal fans only. Consequentially, it shouldn't be a surprise to find me saying: "Ragana" has a thin sound. Clear, but lacking any power. It's been a while since I heard black metal this plain and straightforward - it almost sounds as if listening in mono. The reason for this isn't too hard to find (apart from the obvious one, that it's the band's actual genre): "Ragana" is essentially a remastered reissue of the 1994 demo, with two extra hymns recorded live.
I'm not aware to what level, if any, the (original) release has any "cult" status, but surely, those who worship the earlier black metal might be mesmerized by Poccolus, too. Usually, similar tunes would strike me as either soporific or causing headaches, but even I am somewhat enthralled by Poccolus's dark magic.
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AUTHOR: Goran
Goran has been an active reviewer for years (since the old Fishcomcollective, to the brand new Corazine - and also for Face Your Underground). He enjoys - besides metal - the creative side of life, be it through music, sports, programming or 3D. You can find him at www.myspace.com/fdemets.