Style: Neofolk, ritualistic folk (Clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Wardruna, Leprous, Nytt Land
Country: Poland
Release date: 30 Jan 2026

---

In an evergreen forest in winter, little colour can be seen. All is muted, hushed: the blanket of snow over the hard-frozen earth, the faint stir of the wind, pines and cedars in dull greens and browns bowed stoically against the cold. In such a scene, anything with a beating heart brings a visceral vitality, warm and pulsing in the frosty quiet. So opens Monochrome from Poland’s HÉR, as rattling percussion and eerie strings swell unhurriedly into the stillness.

Ritualistic, experimental, and rich in contrast, HÉR draw on the neofolk sound of groups such as Wardruna and Heilung, with musical influences and lyrics that nod reverently to ancient Slavic and Norse traditions, albeit with more stripped-back and minimal melodies. But unlike many bands in the neofolk genre, HÉR’s instrumental lineup is not so primeval, as violin and saxophone take lead roles alongside the vocals. Through this instrumentation as well as exploratory compositional choices, Monochrome’s wintry palette is also brightened by a Leprous-like avant glint.

The rhythmic pulse of percussion and bass beats at the centre of Monochrome. Frequently profiting from the absence of guitar, the bass billows in open space as in the intro to “Slipknot”. All around, the violin and saxophone nudge their way curiously along the rest of the scale, like deer foraging through winter undergrowth, separating and rejoining as if testing the safety of their surroundings. Often, the vocals layer and overlap in near-monotone, as in album opener “Chant”, where they press forward in insistent, measured metre. Deep and guttural, the technique used here is close to throat singing. Elsewhere, spoken word is employed with striking, poetic precision (“Slipknot”), or simple melodies resonate roundly like a vocal line from Leprous’s Melodies of Atonement pitched down to a dusky baritone register (“Patience in Observation”).

But Monochrome is not a peaceful album. Though most tracks open with ponderous, slow-rolling patience, the quickening pulse of the drums nearly eight minutes into “Chant” rends that slow assurance into disintegrating frenzy, introducing a contrast that recurs across the album’s forty-two minutes. No longer tentative, the saxophone tears off in panicked squalls. The violin is scraped raw in “Praise the Day”, or quivers like an animal poised to bolt at the crack of a twig (“Needles and Bark”). Vocals, brass, and strings all refract off each other in hostile, cold intervals.

To the neofolk-savvy listener who may expect a tonal continuation of the primordial Nordic incantation of “Chant”, HÉR offer a subtle subversion, as the rest of Monochrome’s lyrics are in English. However, they maintain a minimal, oblique poeticism that keeps language secondary to atmosphere and prevents the shift from landing too awkwardly. For example, take “Going Down”, a four-minute track that rests on the haunches of a steadily percussive beat as tendrils of spacey synths and saxophone weave overhead. In between, the vocals occupy a narrow melodic and lyrical corridor, with a short, mantra-like recitation comprising the song’s full lyrics: “yo ho / going down / yo ho / freedom / yo ho / further more”.

If there is criticism to be levelled at Monochrome, it’s bound up with its title. To paint deliberately in limited hues inevitably constrains the spectrum of musical and emotional variation. HÉR’s compositional discipline, with largely steady tempos, narrow melodic ranges, and austere harmonic language, creates a powerful atmosphere. But the album risks feeling hermetic over time as the instrumental interplay, evocative as it is, circles the same familiar terrain. Yet judging by the title and unsettling aesthetic of Monochrome’s cover, this may be intentional. 

HÉR’s elemental vitality, at once understated and yet unrestrained, allows them to shift from hypnotic calm to raw force in a single track like album closer “Farewell”, all with subtle gradations of light and darkness. By Monochrome’s end, the wintry scene may seem to be unchanged. There has been no riotous transformation, no blaze of colour splashed across the canvas. But for the patient observer, contemplation is rich in reward: Take in the ritual thrum of the instruments, the patterns traced in the snow, and the timeless heartbeat reverberating beneath it all.

---

Recommended tracks: Chant, Slipknot, Praise the Day
You may also like: De Mannen Broeders, Danheim, Kalandra
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Season of Mist

HÉR is:

– Tomasz Chyła (vocals, violin, synthesizer, percussion)
– Maciej Świniarski (vocals, percussion)
– Piotr Chęcki (saxophone, percussion)
– Tomek Sadecki (bass guitar, synthesizer, percussion)
– Sławek Koryzno (drums, percussion)