Style: Experimental black metal, dissonant black metal (mostly harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Blut Aus Nord, Deathspell Omega, Mare Cognitum, Melechesh
Country: United States
Release date: 7 November 2025

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Excellent artists have an insatiable appetite for innovation. Only two albums into his career, and D.L. of Kostnatění had already resculpted black metal with Turkish tonality, deftly mimicking the delirium of heatstroke in acrid riffs and barbed vocals. Kostnatění’s syncretic take on black metal, melding Middle Eastern, North African, and Scandinavian styles (with poetic lyrics in Czech) has quickly made D.L. one of the most exciting voices in the genre. On Přílišnost (Excess), Kostnatění takes yet another bound forward.

The music on Přílišnost is still immediately recognizable as D.L.’s—a signature blend of microtonality, desert melodies, and scorching riffs. Several tracks continue directly in the vein of Úpal, like the early album run from “Křehký bůh (Fragile God)” to “Zpět ke kmenům (Back to the Tribes).” Dense, melodic guitar contours melt into noisy dissonance as you simultaneously feel your sanity corrode, the disconcerting, rambling riffs still Kostnatění’s biggest strength. New drummer Joe Goldwater injects a ton of variety into the rhythms and paces across Přílišnost, engendering a sense of metric dynamism. The main riff in “Křehký bůh” is in an asymmetric 9/4; “Přílišnost” has a headbanging death metal riff in 17/16; and all throughout, D.L. and Goldwater will drag you from slower-paced sections into vicious flurries of drums and vice versa. Complementing the drums in the rhythm section, Přílišnost also sees D.L. emphasize his bass playing more in the mix, and the record has a much fuller sound than his treble-heavy earlier works.

Přílišnost’s glut of experimentation is what drives the record, though. The record wears its proclivity for new ideas on its sleeves by opening with synths—absent on Úpal—and breakbeat drumming. Midway through the album on “Mrtvola Jupitera (Corpse of Jupiter),” Kostnatění returns to a heavy usage of the synths. The track is built on the synth’s eerie melody—as well as its interaction with something which sounds like a death whistle. The title track turns into a Middle Eastern barrage of crushing blackened death metal, taking influence from Nile and Crescent, even ending in a ridiculous breakdown ushered in by a hardcore scream of “I WILL NEVER FUCKING STOP!” The record’s most fun inclusion—albeit the least successful—is what can only be described as dissonant black metal nu metal. Yes, “Dále zvenčí (Further from Outside)” breaks into some turntable scratching with rapped harsh vocals in Czech, but it’s still atop Kostnatění’s typical black metal. The nu metal breakdown in the track is followed by the longest clean vocal section on the album. I don’t think the nu metal inspired section gels with D.L.’s stylistic choices elsewhere, but I applaud the bold attempt at something drastically fresh. 

The record’s title is a self-fulfilling prophecy, however, and with a dozen new ideas and about a hundred killer riffs packed into ten short tracks, the excess of the record is clear: this is overwhelming to digest even as a massive fan of Kostnatění. The production doesn’t lose any of the detail in the layers of instruments, and so the soundscape is also saturated with sounds from all registers, always. Even the slower parts are hardly a respite due to the record’s instrumental deluge. Also, while plenty of the new elements are implemented naturally, such as the deathier riffs across the album or the breakcore at the beginning, sometimes they disrupt the flow—flow being one of the strengths of Úpal, which moved seamlessly from track to track. 

As a record “dedicated to the suffocating, destructive pursuit of self-perfection,” Přílišnost is a resounding success, and all of what makes D.L. such a unique artist and Úpal such a landmark modern black metal album is present on the new record. And despite the previous successes, Kostnatění is not complacent. Přílišnost is steadfast in its innovation, even if the nu metal breaks and pacing aren’t always successful. On the next record, Kostnatění will undoubtedly shatter the bounds of his sound once again. This is what the best artists do; Kostnatění is one of the faces of innovation in modern black metal.

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Recommended tracks: Kostely byly mrakodrapy (Churches Were the Skyscrapers); Zpět ke kmenům (Back to the Tribes); Znal jsem tě (I Knew You)
You may also like: Scarcity, Ars Magna Umbrae, SkyThala, Ὁπλίτης, Fleshmeadow
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Willowtip Records

Kostnatění is:
– D.L. (everything)
With:
– Joe Goldwater (drums)
– Mack (additional vocals)