Review: “Towards Non-Being” EP by Hovert

Hovert started as a one man depressive Black Metal project from the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia. Founded by vocalist and guitarist Alever in 2010, the band have released one demo in 2010’s “Despair” (which was originally lost), two albums in 2013’s “Nothing Else” and 2019’s “SOL“, two splits (with Cheerful, Depression, Smoking Culture, Psychonaut 4, Misere Noblis) and two EPs in the last decade. Alever is joined by bassist Jeanaharte and drummer Michael, “Towards Non-Being” is a rehearsal recorded July 2019.

As you might expect given the title of the record, each song is a bleak tale of soul crushing despair wrapped in the veil of Black Metal. Sparse shrill vocals perforate the classic, raw and abrasive guitar tones, while that live on the studio feel give the whole thing a flow that is unstoppable. Alever’s vocals are like nails on a chalk board, grating but in a good way and unlike say Snorlax, are audible. Lyrically it’s a cathartic piece of work with lines like “The candle flame behind me goes out, I’m so far away but afraid to turn around, The future is waiting with black open mouth, The flame goes out, we can not return it” from “Flame” showing a real inner darkness that gives the music an added textural dimension. “Red Thread” has a mournful quality, almost like funeral music, during the drawn out instrumental passages and when Alever isn’t venting his spleen with ear splitting tones while “Hallucination” has some bad acid trip moments that are the transposition of those black bile vocals. As with the bands previous works, these are the in we thoughts of someone who should be in a straight jacket, rocking gently back and forth while starring into the middle distance, instanity and despair with a touch of evil [7/10]

Track listing

1. Flame
2. Nihilism
3. Red Thread
4. Hallucination

“Towards Non-Being” by Hovert is out now via Talheim Records and available over at bandcamp