{"id":35549,"date":"2025-09-01T00:44:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T00:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/35549\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T00:44:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T00:44:15","slug":"review-zatokrev-bring-mirrors-to-the-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/35549\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Zatokrev – …Bring Mirrors to the Surface"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published by Daniel<\/strong><\/a> on August 31, 2025August 31, 2025<\/p>\n

\"\"No artist credited \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n

Style: Sludge metal, post-metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Thou, Neurosis, Mastodon
Country: Switzerland
Release date: 29 August 2025<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit it: sometimes I judge an album by its cover. Well, pre-judge it, at any rate. Given the sheer flood of music out there, not to mention the albums we\u2019re asked to review, I occasionally let the cover art decide what I\u2019ll sample next. So naturally, when I saw the inky black cover of \u2026Bring Mirrors to the Surface\u2014etched with white bioluminescent plant, aquatic, and eldritch life\u2014it grabbed me immediately. It\u2019s exactly the kind of cover that justifies a vinyl hobby, a tactile piece of art that makes the music more an object of worship or ritual than something merely auditory. Additionally, Zatokrev<\/strong> has flown under my radar, and amongst the pile of promos from unfamiliar-to-me acts, \u2026Bring Mirrors to the Surface striking cover helped nudge the release into my claims.<\/p>\n

Sonically, Zatokrev<\/strong> create something sounding like ISIS<\/strong> taking an Acid Bath<\/strong> in a grungy tub, delivering slow and swampy, down-tuned and dirty, floorboard-loosening riffs. Vocals chant, growl, and shout at the mire surrounding them. It\u2019s an intriguing sound, but one that\u2014at least in the opening stretch\u2014did not grab me on first listen like the cover art did. \u201cRed Storm\u201d starts the album off with a slow, dour trudge, its rhythmic and melodic repetition stretching across ten minutes that test patience more than they reward it. \u201cBlood\u201d is a bit more adventurous in its first half, slightly quickening the pace and making the guitars and melodies move with a purpose. Unfortunately, the song transforms into what feels like a soft bridge about halfway through, but what we\u2019re actually wandering into is an extended forever outro\u2014a bridge to nowhere that saps momentum instead of building it. These feel like missteps, but mercifully, they\u2019re not the whole story.<\/p>\n

Two of the shorter songs on \u2026Bring Mirrors to the Surface outline a sharper template that I think Zatokrev<\/strong> should lean on with greater frequency. \u201cThe Only Voice\u201d kicks up the tempo compared to the opening eighteen minutes and is, dare I say, happy for a chunk of its runtime. The lifting melody of those vigorously strummed chords that comprise most of the verse wouldn\u2019t sound out of place on an Astronoid<\/strong> release\u2014just don\u2019t pay attention to the desolate lyrics if you want to keep that vibe going. \u201cPearl Eyes,\u201d meanwhile, lands like a hammer: face-crumpling, chord-laden riffage meeting mid-tempo stanky groove with a few vocal hooks that pull the whole thing together. At just four minutes, it\u2019s taut, effective, and\u2014unlike a few of the longer tracks\u2014knows when to exit before overstaying its welcome.<\/p>\n

Thus is the dichotomy of \u2026Bring Mirrors to the Surface. The shorter pieces that break from the slow and sludgy modes and embrace post-metal are much more appealing than the lengthier, bog-ridden tracks that seem stuck in the muck. \u201cFaint\u201d is a perfect example. Brash and dissonant, it tears forward anxiously and would fit in quite nicely on something like Mastodon<\/strong>\u2019s Leviathan. Like \u201cPearl Eyes\u201d and \u201cThe Only Voice,\u201d it shows how much more compelling Zatokrev<\/strong> can be when they trim the fat and let their riffs gnash. And yet, the irony is that my favorite song on the album is the longest one. Unlike the plodding \u201cRed Storm\u201d or the lost \u201cUnwinding Spirits,\u201d closer \u201cDeep Dark Turns Green\u201d justifies its sprawl. Shifting between introspective moods and carving out space for genuinely beautiful moments, its lead guitar lines lift you up while the transition into the (actual, for real this time) bridge will tug at the heartstrings. Here, Zatokrev<\/strong> prove that length isn\u2019t the problem\u2014it\u2019s focus. Where similarly lengthy tracks from the album quickly come to a standstill, \u201cDeep Dark Turns Green\u201d flows with purpose, carrying you somewhere worth arriving.<\/p>\n

Zatokrev<\/strong> weave a silver lining throughout \u2026Bring Mirrors to the Surface in the vocal work. Frontman Frederyk Rotter and bassist\/backing vocalist Lucas L\u00f6w\u2014along with a bevy of guests\u2014carry much of the album\u2019s appeal. The variety they provide in the voices keeps even the more sluggish passages from becoming completely stale, while making the brilliant moments shine that much brighter. On \u201cUnwinding Spirits,\u201d they bring everything from thunderous, throaty growls to angelic falsettos1<\/a>, while \u201cPearl Eyes\u201d alternates high shouts and lower, almost whispered soft vocals that are sprinkled throughout the song. These wonderful contrasts keep me engaged with the music where I otherwise might give up.<\/p>\n

This all brings me back to where I started: the album art. The cover of \u2026Bring Mirrors to the Surface perfectly reflects the music within. The LP is a gloomy, dark voyage with flashes of strange, luminous beauty. Zatokrev<\/strong> mostly succeed in balancing these extremes. At times, you\u2019ll feel as if you\u2019re meandering through a murky, sweltering swamp with no end in sight. But when the slog threatens to overwhelm, a guiding hand lifts you onto solid ground\u2014rewarding patience and lingering long after the final notes fade.<\/p>\n

Recommended tracks: Deep Dark Turns Green, The Only Voice, Pearl Eyes
You may also like: Membrane<\/a>, V\u00f6lur, Cares<\/a>, Ufomammut
Final verdict: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Related links: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> | Metal-Archives<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: Pelagic Records \u2013 Bandcamp<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> | Official Website<\/a><\/p>\n

Zatokrev<\/strong> is:
\u2013 David Burger (drums)
\u2013 Steffen Kunkel (guitars)
\u2013 Lucas L\u00f6w (bass, backing vocals)
\u2013 Frederyk Rotter (vocals, guitars)
With guests<\/strong>:
\u2013 Okoi Jones of B\u00f6lzer<\/strong>
\u2013 Inezona<\/strong>
\u2013 Michael Gagneux of Zeal & Ardor<\/strong>
\u2013 Christopher Bennett, Zachary Livingston, Aaron Austin of Minsk<\/strong>
\u2013 Christopher Ruf, also known as CSR or Schammasch<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n