Upiór - Haunting Memories - Song Review - Symphonic Death Metal from France, Poland, and England

Today I am writing about a destructive symphonic death metal song, Haunting Memories by a special band, Upiór, hailing from France, Poland, and England. Haunting Memories is off from their latest studio album, The Forest That Grieves, released in 2022.

UPIÓR - Haunting Memories (official lyric video)

The official track "Haunting Memories" from Upiór's new album, "The Forest That Grieves" was released on 21st March 2022.

Upiór separates themselves from other bands with their origins and story the moment you find out that they actually are recording musicians from different countries. I admit that I am impressed by the band name, which means; "a demonic being from Slavic folklore, a prototype of the vampire." After this moment, who wouldn't feel proud to wear Upiór t-shirts?

Also, this band is a collective of talented musicians from Poland, France, and the UK, founded in 2019. Their history alone can make a good story in the end, might be enough to create something special, and Haunting Memories gave me a positive signal.

Musically, Haunting Memories stands out with its brutal instrumentation and tight sound, the band is quite invincible at these. Although I haven't felt any spark through my listening at any specific moment, listening to "what Upiór is capable of" was enough to earn my admiration, which happens rarely. The captured music in Haunting Memories has similar standards with established bands such as Kreator and Cradle of Filth, which shows how much respect they have for what they do and for the listeners of this music.

Moreover, the influences are mainly familiar ideas we get to hear from the established symphonic death metal bands, accompanied by melodic and technical metal elements.

Upiór, Band ArtCredit: Unknown

On the other side of the coin, it wouldn't be fair for these talented gentlemen to hear any criticism at all, but I also know the positive criticism is going to be the essence for Upiór to become one of the significant bands in their specific genre.

Firstly, Haunting Memories will be highly appreciated by the metal community without a question. But I also believe the musicality of this song wouldn't be enough to make such positive impact without the massive production, mainly because it sounds familiar.

And lastly, Upiór is special in so many ways. I remember getting excited before listening to this song, especially after reading a few things about the band. But at the same time, I unconsciously started to expect hearing "dark Slavic folklore" elements in this song, which wasn't in the plan. In fact, the idea made so much sense to me, I started to believe in it for no reason, and ended up disappointed for it never happened.

When I put all these into account, I'd like to say that I had a great time listening to Haunting Memories by Upiór. Simply one of the tightest symphonic death metal songs I listened to, earned its place in the "Monsters of Metal Underground" playlist on Spotify. Thanks for reading.

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