Swietowit (alternative spellings include Svetovid and Sventevith among many others) was the Slavic god of war, fertility, and abundance. He had four heads and rode a white horse which he would ride into bitwa (battle) to slaughter all those who would threaten the Slavic peoples. Bitwa is also the name of a one-man black metal band from Kent, Washington. The music this band plays is an homage to the frontman's Wendish ancestors. He uses this music as a way to preserve the pre-Christian Slavic gods and traditions.
In stark contrast to most metal being made nowadays, everything about Bitwa's music is analog. As he puts it, “no quality, no drum programming, no pro tools”. As such, the production is lo-fi and cloudy. Personally, I love this kind of production, as it reminds me of the Blazebirth Hall.
In terms of musicianship, he makes a few mistakes (as is inevitable with one-man bands), but overall, his performance is fantastic. Since it's all analog, he records the drums using an actual kit. There are occasions where he goes offbeat, but the blast beats are nicely-performed and he throws in a great deal of elaborate fills. The guitars play black metal riffs that are most often found in Eastern Europe, but the tone is more akin to dark death metal bands such as Muknal and others. In terms of vocals, his rasps sound just like Kaldrad Branislav back in his early days.
I love this little demo. Of course, I'm a sucker for anything that's lo-fi, but I really, really love this demo. I hope Bitwa makes more music sometime soon. In the meantime, you can find their work on both Bandcamp and Reverb Nation.
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