Epic black metal project Banished, originally from Vukovar, recently released a 25-minute single that describes the fate of an ordinary soldier determined to, in the midst of the Battle of Kozara, inform the ordinary people hidden in the forest about the coming attack. In the words of the author, it is “a big story about which I could write pages and pages”, and that “it is a subject about which there is a lot of disagreement.”
The dramatic symphonic overture hints at the images of destruction and horror that the Axis Powers sowed among the population. Even as a child, the protagonist of this episode, Rajko Dragaš – a real historical figure and the grandfather of the principle author of the project Dragan “Koba” Dragaš – experiences the horrors of war firsthand, eventually joining the Partisans himself.
Encountering the misunderstanding of his commander-in-chief, Rajko, exhausted by continuous fighting, leaves the trench position on his birthday with the intention of informing his relatives and the rest of the people left to the mercy of chance in the forests of Kozare about the upcoming attack by two enemy squads. In addition to energetic black metal enriched by a bombastic film symphony, you can also hear sections with pure male and female vocals, and careful listeners will also appreciate the skilful adaptation of selected moments from the partisan songbook and Serbian poetry.
The new song, as the main single from the future album “Sve če to narod zlatiti”, is accompanied by visuals done in the style of classic comics, showing Rajko’s path and destiny in detail. This episode is part of the third continuation of the saga that follows the life and fate of soldiers in the period during and between the two World Wars.
Dragaš, who normally works as a composer in the world film industry, revealed a few details about this project, which took a total of six months: “It came to the point that (the project) contained about 300 instruments, from guitars, drums and bass to an orchestra, dialogue, weapons and various special effects. My monster of a computer fell to its knees.
Source: balkanrock.com
