Style: Progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Enslaved, Borknagar, Arkona, Moonsorrow
Country: Lithuania
Release date: 23 January 2026

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While this could be said of many genres, I’ve always thought of metal as a kind of universal language. It’s a genre that transcends borders, fluency, and literal meaning perhaps more than any other, because its core vocabulary isn’t semantic—it’s physical. The urgency of the rhythm, the fury in a vocal delivery, or the blistering intensity of the drums say practically everything that needs to be said, while a riff communicates more viscerally than any lyric ever could. And damn does Tėkmės, the latest and fourth album from Lithuanian prog-metalers Juodvarnis, have some riffs.

Juodvarnis aren’t delivering these riffs via a single, easily defined style, either. Instead, they speak through the negative space between intersecting sub-genres. Rooted in a progressive metal structural ambition, steeped in the desolation of black metal, and expanded by the patient, atmospheric pull of post-metal, Tėkmės resists easy classification. And as someone who reviews a lot of post-black metal, it’s worth clarifying: Tėkmės isn’t that. No soft-focus, melancholic shoegaze or slow-build release exists here—just purposeful heaviness that borrows atmosphere without surrendering to the tropes of those genres.

What makes Tėkmės compelling isn’t just the presence of those styles, but rather how fluently Juodvarnis code-switch between them. When the band want to use their darkest vocabulary, they do so with overwhelming force—tracks like “Dvasios Ligos” and “Juodos Akys” are powered by furious blast beats, dissonant blackened riffing, and vocal performances brimming with genuine rage. Stank, meet face. Elsewhere, the band speak in contrast. “Laikui Varvant” pairs one of the album’s most infectious, off-beat prog riffs with a call-and-response chorus that trades off between clean and harsh vocals. “Tamsiausias Nušvitimas” also leans into desolation, allowing black metal textures to seep in before pulling back through sliding vocal transitions and understated soloing. The sparing use of guitar solos throughout the album, and their relatively reserved nature, is itself a statement—an entry in the less is more catalog. Not everything needs to melt your face or scream to be heard. Besides, the riffs, drums, and vocals are already bringing the heat.

Juodvarnis also make use of softer textures with greater intentionality. These dialed-back moments serve as punctuation, giving shape and emphasis to the heavier passages they set up and resolve with striking effectiveness. Both the title track and “Platybės” employ soothing melodies that rank among Tėkmės’ most memorable phrases. The songs stick with you because of the contrast both within these tracks themselves and within the album as a whole. That restraint won’t last through the night, though. The synth-accompanied, chugging riff of the bridge on “Platybės” pointedly reminds the listener, “You’re listening to a prog metal album, remember?” These contrasts also expose the album’s one real weakness. When the band shift away from riff-driven momentum and settle into static chord progressions, their distinctive voice becomes lost. Almost every track does this to a small degree, but thankfully these moments aren’t the driving force of any song.

Of all the performances on Tėkmės there is a clear standout: Paulius Smanavičius’ vocals are remarkably dexterous, sliding deftly not just across his range (“Platybės,” “Laikui Varvant”), but between techniques—clean, to fried, to harsh—often within the same phrase (“Svoris,” “Tėkmės”). The effect is seamless enough that those transitions cease to register as stylistic. Instead, they are inflections of the same voice, used with an instinctive sense of timing and emotional weight, making Tėkmės fully, fluently spoken.

Juodvarnis have a vision, and Tėkmės is as clear a mission statement as any. Metal has always been borderless to me—a shared emotional vocabulary spoken through distortion, rhythm, and volume. The music carries its meaning in tone, tension, and tempo. While of course I glanced at the lyric sheet and its kindly provided translation, I don’t need to speak Lithuanian to feel the raw emotion, introspection, and desolation flowing through Tėkmės. The music speaks for itself.

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Recommended tracks: Dvasios Ligos, Laikui Varvant, Tėkmės, Juodos Akys
You may also like: Dordeduh, Uulliata Digir, Sur Austru, Vintersorg, Amiensus
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Website

Label: Independent

Juodvarnis is:
– Augustinas Bėkšta (drums)
– Modestas Juškėnas (guitars)
– Paulius Simanavičius (guitars, vocals, keyboards)
– Vytenis Vaisiūnas (bass)