Haiduk is the solo death metal project from Luka Milojica. Hailing from Canada, ok, that’s all I have. Where this guy’s from really does not matter so long as he makes albums as cohesive and strong as Spellbook. There have always been a slew of metal bands coming out of Canada, I know that. I just seem to be only now paying attention!!
There are no doubts whatsoever that Luka is a very good musician, none at all. But musicianship isn’t shit without songwriting. Spellbook just happens to be laced with both. ‘Black Wind’ is a death-thrash opener of the best kind. The winding guitars and ridiculous rhythms have a modern sound, but one packing evil in the guitars. Melodies are all over but don’t eschew one ounce of blunt force at all. The vocals fit well, and while they are sparse at times, they help keep the flow of the song. ‘Forcefield’ has a similar structure, but it’s the underlying guitars (that you may not catch on first listen), that really sink their teeth in if you pay attention. When the song is on its way out, those guitars are brought to the front and sound amazing.
The mix of ‘Hex’ and ‘Lich’ is great one. ‘Hex’ packs a lot of winding guitars and dissonant riffs as well, and on the way out we are left scraping up the ashes from the fucking fire…then ‘Lich’ comes in guns blazing until the one minute mark. And here Luka slows the pace for a brief moment and allows his vocals to shine through. If I had one complaint at all, it would be that he doesn’t sing enough on the record. His vocals are good, I enjoy them and would like to hear more of them, f’real. They mix really well with the music he’s written, so hopefully the next album will have him looking to use his voice a bit more. ‘Stormcall’ is a really good example of what he’s capable of. The guitars are given a little more room to breathe on this song as his voice just roars over the top, really delivering his evil sound perfectly.
The linear guitar work that closes out Spellbook on ‘Vortex’ only proves further that Luka isn’t a one trick pony and he can play, and write, good songs at moderate tempos. If you’re a fan of thrash or death metal this album is definitely worth checking out. And keep an eye out for Haiduk in the future. The groundwork has been laid, so this project can only get better and better from here. I look forward to what Luka will put out next.
You can grab Haiduk’s Spellbook off their webpage, where you can preview select songs as well. Support artists and bands you enjoy. Go grab a record!!
HAIL!!!
