CBZK: ‘Duchota’ Merges Industrial and Black Metal to Explore Psychological Strain

Released on April 10, 2025, the video single ‘Duchota’ marks a pivotal moment in the lead-up to the digital launch of ‘Dybuctwo,’ the forthcoming EP from the Polish CBZK known for merging industrial intensity with black metal foundations. As the third track unveiled from the record, it signals a deepening of the project’s thematic concerns, focusing on psychological suffocation and existential unrest through a tightly structured and deliberately abrasive sonic palette.

Accompanying the release, the video for ‘Duchota’ employs a restrained visual language that aligns with the track’s oppressive tone. Rather than offering narrative resolution, the imagery reinforces the atmosphere of internal conflict that defines the song. The work forms part of a broader strategy in which visual and auditory components are conceived in parallel—each reinforcing the other to articulate a cohesive artistic statement that rejects convention in favor of unease, confrontation, and tension.

Formation and Origins of the Project

CBZK began as a cross-border collaboration in 2023, uniting two artists with distinct but overlapping creative histories. Kopczak, based in Sanok, Poland, brought a background shaped by his work in Malconfort, while Fas—active across Bristol and Crete—entered the partnership with experience from projects including Sea Mosquito, Amaltheia, and a shared connection to Malconfort. Their alliance did not emerge from a singular geographic or cultural scene, but from a shared interest in exploring the limits of sound and form.

Rather than functioning as a traditional band, CBZK operates as a remote experimental unit. Their process reflects a wider shift in underground music practices, where geographic location is secondary to conceptual alignment. The result is a project shaped as much by dislocation as by cohesion—an effort structured around a mutual aesthetic language that prioritizes density, fragmentation, and thematic discipline.

Structure, Sound, and Thematic Focus in ‘Duchota’

In ‘Duchota,’ CBZK builds a sonic framework defined by restraint and compression, crafting a track where repetition, distortion, and abrupt sonic shifts converge to evoke a sustained sense of psychological suffocation. The absence of melodic relief is not incidental but central to the composition’s architecture—each element is measured, offering a soundscape where dissonance is used not for dramatic effect but as a structural necessity.

The lyrical content reinforces this atmosphere through stark, unembellished language. Describing a soul on the edge of collapse, the verses avoid metaphor in favor of direct expression: “The soul trembles in its core / It wants to break free / As the rain falls from the black clouds.” Elsewhere, the lines “Its suffocating and soulless call / Cut it all out” underscore a desire for disconnection and finality. The song presents not a narrative arc but a fixed psychological state—rendered in both sound and text—where movement is limited and release remains elusive.

Visual Strategy and Aesthetic Intent

The video for ‘Duchota’ reinforces the track’s thematic emphasis on psychological confinement through a stark, tightly controlled visual language. Composed primarily of dimly lit scenes rendered in muted tones, the piece intentionally forgoes elaborate production or narrative embellishment. Instead, it constructs a mood of isolation through proximity and stillness, relying on confined framing and minimal spatial context to evoke a sense of enclosure.

On-screen motion is restrained, limited to incremental shifts or deliberate, almost mechanical gestures that align with the track’s unyielding structure. The imagery does not interpret the lyrics directly but serves as an atmospheric counterpart, extending the emotional register of the music without resorting to illustrative cues. In this way, the video functions less as accompaniment and more as a continuation of the composition’s core logic—one rooted in restraint, tension, and unresolved interior states. The result is a unified audio-visual work that deepens the project’s commitment to sustained intensity and formal discipline.

Aesthetic Disruption and Transnational Alignment

CBZK has carved out a singular position within Poland’s underground music spectrum by deliberately subverting genre conventions. Situated between the abrasive textures of industrial sound and the severity of black metal, their work challenges the established parameters of both traditions. Rather than engaging with genre as a set of stylistic references, the project adopts a methodology built on rupture—favoring dissonance, formal rigor, and affective saturation over adherence to familiar sonic codes.

What further distinguishes CBZK is the project’s structural composition. Operating across multiple countries—Poland, the United Kingdom, and Greece—the collaboration is emblematic of a broader evolution in independent music practice, where geographic boundaries no longer define artistic communities. This distributed model reflects not only a practical adaptation to post-digital production but also a conceptual one, emphasizing mobility, autonomy, and shared intensity over regional identity. Within this landscape, CBZK belongs less to a national movement and more to a network of artists invested in pushing the limits of genre and form.

Tracing the Lineage of Hybrid Sound Practices

The approach adopted by CBZK reflects a longstanding movement within alternative music toward dismantling genre hierarchies in favor of more fluid, confrontational configurations. From the early synth-driven interventions of industrial acts to the genre cross-pollination found in later metal subcultures, artists working at the margins have frequently challenged stylistic purity as a means of resisting both aesthetic convention and cultural containment.

CBZK’s synthesis of black metal’s raw intensity with the mechanized force of industrial composition stands within this lineage but also advances it. Their work does not merely borrow from distinct traditions; it reconstructs them into a tightly bound language of pressure, fragmentation, and sonic austerity. In doing so, the project speaks to the ongoing viability of genre fusion as a method of creative resistance—one that continues to evolve not through novelty alone, but through sustained commitment to formal interrogation and expressive precision.

Resonance in a Broader Cultural Climate

‘Duchota’ arrives within a cultural landscape increasingly attuned to themes of emotional confinement, psychological fatigue, and the desire for autonomy. Its portrayal of internal strain—delivered without ornament or resolution—mirrors the language of contemporary discourse surrounding mental health, particularly as individuals contend with the pressures of fragmentation in both personal and societal spheres. The track offers no catharsis, instead presenting an unflinching representation of stasis and unease.

This resistance to closure aligns with a broader shift in independent music, where emotional states are not necessarily resolved within a narrative arc but held in place for examination. In presenting a sonic environment that emphasizes tension over transformation, CBZK contributes to an expanding conversation about how internal distress is expressed, understood, and framed in cultural terms. ‘Duchota’ does not seek to interpret that experience—it insists on confronting it directly.

Conclusion

With ‘Duchota,’ CBZK reaffirms its commitment to a disciplined, unrelenting form of expression—one that resists easy categorization while holding firm to its thematic core. The single sharpens the group’s sonic identity, emphasizing restraint, tension, and psychological density over resolution or accessibility. As ‘Dybuctwo’ nears release, the project is poised to deepen this trajectory, offering a sustained contribution to the outer edges of experimental music.

We invite readers to share their reflections on CBZK’s work—whether a particular track resonated with you, a live performance left a lasting impression, or their sound challenged your expectations. Your stories and perspectives enrich the ongoing conversation around their influence and impact.