Dear friends and especially fans of Czech metal history, your wait is done. Today comes the official release of "Kniha kovu II", that is, of the second volume of the probe into the evolution of the local metal, penned once again by Václav Votruba! Delve into the past and present of Czech doom metal and grindcore and order your copy now on MetalGate e-shop.
This winter, all avid readers and fans of the Czech metal history will get a treat, for exactly a year later returns Kniha kovu, with its second volume, to pick up where it left off, that is, to continue mapping the evolution of the various subgenres, present on the local scene, from their prehistory to current conditions. While the previous installment covered the classic triad of black, death and doom metal, this one focuses on their younger brothers, namely doom metal and grindcore. At first glance, it may seem like an odd combination, but, as in case of many other things, it is in the eye of the beholder. For instance, if we perceive the general diversity of metal as a scale and said triad as the middle interval, then both doom and grind represent the extreme poles on the opposite ends of such spectrum, whereby we can talk of a contextual affinity. Of course, both subgenres are in themselves, in terms of their character, very different from each other, and yet both represent the next logical evolutionary step – the search for limits of the already established, both form and content-wise – that goes simultaneously in two opposite directions. Thereby, as far as composition is concerned, doom metal runs counter to the normative thesis that metal is played fast, by exploring how slow it can be performed, while grind on the other hand takes said thesis ad absurdum, searching for the fastest way to play it. Theme-wise, it is the other way around. While grind defies the normative thesis that metal is a serious matter vis-á-vis its inclusion of the comedic element and humor in general, doom metal takes it to the extreme by focusing on dead-serious, existential even, motifs. Their similarity thus stems from what they represent within metal, what function they perform.
The second volume of Kniha kovu is comprised of only two parts, but that is the end, form-wise, of differences between the two books. Same as before, both parts contain a historical study of the style in question, presented again vis-á-vis the recollections and opinions of relevant figures and of direct participants in the events, as well as an overview of key bands and persons active in the given style.
The book was penned once again by the Czech journalist, writer and musician Václav Votruba, who, in the year that separates the two books, also wrote a new piece of fiction Šumavské běsy, produced with his bands two more albums (i.e. the fifth full-length of DARK ANGELS and the debut of THE RIVER OF LOST SOULS), and on top began preparing his first solo EP. He was rejoined by Tomáš F. Hanzl (ANTIGOD, ISACAARUM), who again took care of typesetting and the overall graphic design of the book.
