The Bad Penny (beta)

“Due to rocket and drone attacks, we often have no electricity, and this is a very important factor even for simple life, let alone music.”

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Blocking out or at least trying to gain some distance from atrocities taking place either next door (c.f. the remarkable film Zone of Interest) or overseas (c.f. just about every nationalist in every country in the world) is often referred to as an act of self-preservation. Oh, what privilege comes with such a moral justification. It’s as if people who think that way are able to perform a Jedi mind trick on themselves.

Ukraine’s Tria Prima aren’t able to enjoy such a luxury; inexorably, their death metal blitzkriegs are laced not only with doom and synth elements but also an underlying fury that gives voice to a population that Russia unjustly invaded more than three years ago and has barraged with bombs and unspeakable acts of violence ever since.

While having that context is critical for understanding Tria Prima – which features former members of Drudkh, Lucifugum and other core members of Ukraine’s metal underground – it by no means mitigates or undercuts the strength of the band’s ruthless brand of extreme metal. Released yesterday, The Mortificatio, Tria Prima’s latest bloody bouquet succeeds their Three Primes of Alchemy EP not just in chronology but in sheer metal potency as well. The band is on such a tear, they’re already planning to drop the follow-up to The Mortificatio in the second half of 2026.

Yesterday, The Bad Penny caught up with Serhii D. D. Bondar – who handles bass, backing vocals, keyboards, songwriting and more for Tria Prima – to get some further insight on their furious debut.