Band:	Dordeduh
Album:	Har
Style:	Folk black metal, Progressive black metal
Release date:	May 2021

01. Timpul Întâilor
02. În Vieliștea Uitării
03. Descânt
04. Calea Magilor
05. Vraci De Nord
06. Desferecat
07. De Neam Vergur
08. Văznesit

Dordeduh's debut album was called Dar De Duh. Album number two is called Har. I appreciate the simplicity.

The name Dordeduh roughly translates as 'longing for spirit', but it would be hard to say there was a lack of spirit on Dar De Duh, the majestic debut record of the project spawned in the aftermath of the fracturing of Negură Bunget. Unleashing a folk-infused form of black metal to rival that found on OM, the magnus opus of founding members Sol Faur and Hupogrammos' fomer band, Dordeduh effectively inherited the legacy of the titans of Romanian black metal, especially after Negură Bunget disbanded in 2017 following the death of sole remaining founding member Negru. As such, the sophomore release from Dordeduh has been highly anticipated for a long time, and now that it's here, who better to review it than the resident expert in Romanian metal?

Depending on the cheap unreliable online translator that I use, Har means 'grace' and/or 'talent' in English, and either adjective seems appropriate, given the graceful nature of Dordeduh's approach to atmospheric black metal and the talent that these musicians have for writing evocative music in this style. Much like Dar De Duh set its stall out early on by opening with its longest song, "Jind De Tronuri", the opening track on Har is also its longest, with "Timpul Intilor" running just past the 12-minute mark. "Jind De Tronuri" sent listeners through the gauntlet with an ambient intro, black metal assault and extensive percussive folk outro. "Timpul Intilor" again opens with ambient drones and chimes, gradually building towards a metal attack. However, the metal side this time round feels a bit softer; there's still rasps/growls, blackened riffs and blasts to be found, but Dordeduh don't push the intensity on Har to the lengths they did at times on Dar De Duh, which I don't think is an issue by any stretch of the imagination, as I find the band far more interesting when they're combining the metal side with clean vocals, folk instruments/percussion and other elements.

As far as the folk is concerned, there's nothing in the opening track that's as centred around it as the outro to "Jind De Tronuri". It's not really until track 3 where those elements begin to make themselves known, first via the use of hammered dulcimer and group chants on "Descant", and then the interlude "Calea Magilor" reminds listeners that the folk side of the project has not gone anywhere, with tribal percussion, droning horns and ritualistic chanting. The second half of the album places a greater emphasis on the use of folk instrumentation, percussion and vocal arrangements, with perhaps the most effective blend of these elements with the metal side of the band captured on "Desferecat", with rasps and chugs combined with folk instruments and an ominous tribal percussive march.

"Desferecat" was the first song released for the album, and whilst it does exhibit both of the leading components of Dar De Duh making valuable contributions, it potentially threw existing fans by surprise by dedicating its entire mid-section to synths; several minutes of eerie 'horror' synth notes make for a marked deviation from the established sound of the band. Keyboards and electronics in general find regular use across the album, as the closing minutes of "Vraci De Nord" feel closer to a more cheesy form of folk metal than that typically employed by Dordeduh and Negură Bunget beforehand. However, don't fear that this applies for the whole album; Har sounds very much like Dordeduh, just arguably a more melodic version of them.

There's a lot of moving clean vocal sections and melancholic clean instrumentals across Har, with a lovely build throughout "În Vieliștea Uitării", and a really nice mesh of melody, folk and eeriness on "Vraci De Nord". The most melodic track, and the one that feels furthest from either folk or black metal, is "De Neam Vergur", a quite captivating track with some lovely dulcimer, keyboard and guitar melodies featured in its opening minutes. Those hoping for a harsher version of Dordeduh that veers closer to Negură Bunget may be disappointed by Har, but those that are content to see the band not prioritize black metal so much this time around should find much to enjoy here.

Dar De Duh was a hugely impressive first effort by Dordeduh, and one that left much to live up to. As far as I'm concerned, Har does a fine job of following it, particularly given the expectations that have built across the lengthy period of time between the two releases. The album reaffirms just how incredibly talented Sol Faur and Hupogrammos are at welding together extreme-leaning metal, local folk music and other influences into a cohesive and compelling sound, and they use that talent to produce something really charming and captivating here.