Though the moniker is new, the mind behind Herzegovinian has skulked through the depths of extreme metal for over two decades. Tician, as he goes by, dealt death under various metal projects—those bands don't matter at this moment, however. "Despite having a musical career going back 20-plus years and
spanning a variety of genres, the individual is not the focus," Tician states. "Herzegovinian as a project stands alone, for better or worse, and the tropes of name association are useless."
Herzegovinian is solely Tician. He makes his feverish debut this month and it comes in the form of a three-song EP entitled The Chasm. It's a unique and intriguing take on various black metal stylings and thematic tropes. Tician finds inspiration in both second wave and USBM stylings mixing them into a seamless blend of atmosphere and frigid riffs. Lyrically, he draws from various tenets of Lovecraft and Satanism—fairly common themes in black metal. It's what he does with these ideas that separate his music from a deluge of lo-fi, raw black metal demos.
Ultimately, Herzegovinian distills these ideas down into its own twisted concoction. "Uniqueness is a vastly subjective viewpoint," he says. "The inspiration I draw from this material is the liquid and I am the chalice. The contents may be familiar, but it takes my shape when it enters me. My only desire is that I present it with the esteem and timelessness of its original form. The exact same applies to my musical influences."
Tician gives a spin on the Old Testament as well, specifically to the Book of Ezekiel. "There is a doorway—no man shall pass," states a liner note in the presser for The Chasm. Ezekiel 44:2 reads, "And the LORD said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall enter through it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore it will remain shut."
Through the lens of Lovecraft, Tician creates his own interpretation of the verse. "My intention is to refer to the removal of the individual—as it ascribes to 'man.' As Lovecraft often alluded to in his works, the chains we bear are that which we are unable, or unwilling, to understand," Tician explains. "Therein lies the fault of man. This both is and is not a metaphor. Remove the perils of understanding and the veil lifts. Conversely, from an annihilationist approach, remove the cancer of mankind as we know it and the gate will open."
It's a promising and ear-catching debut from a seasoned—albeit veiled—veteran of metal. Two decades of experience and experimentation can only lead to something special, such as the case with Herzegovnian and The Chasm. Though brief at under 15 minutes long, it's a glimpse into a gifted mind and hopefully a sign of more things to come.
Listen to an exclusive stream of The Chasm now and preorder a copy of the EP from Crown and Throne, Ltd.
