Johann Wolfgang Pozoj is an avant-garde black metal band from Croatia who formed in 2004 by combining two groups, Intoxicate and Grob. They released their debut album in 2006, the first part of a planned trilogy. The second part, ‘Escape of Pozoj’, was released in 2009, after which they were approached by Code666 who suggested that they revisit the concept and possibly re-record some of what they had already released. So, the debut ‘Birth of Pozoj’ was re-recorded and released in May 2011 and this followed in November of the same year. That these guys are tight are never in doubt, but for me it is somewhat let down by the production as the riffs and bleakness aren’t as powerful as I feel that they should be. The result is an album that contains many of the elements that I would expect from this type of music yet isn’t as over the top as I would expect it to be.
I have played it a great deal, and I often feel that I am missing out on something as there are definitely hints of greatness in what they do, but they are too few and too far between although I know that many reviewers have raved over this, yet I feel unable to do so. There needs to be more menace and atmosphere for this to really work for me, but it is still an interesting album and something that black metal fans should investigate for themselves.
www.auralmusic.com
