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Oh, and I also have to give props to Deathspell Omega's new album called, "Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum," which was released in N. America by Anja Offensive, and everywhere else by Norma Evangelium Diaboli.
I really can't put into words how overwhelming this album is. I liked their previous EP, "Kenose", a lot, but this album is even more intense and chaotic. For black metal, it's far tighter and more complex than usual, incorporating elements of post-rock, avant-garde sound-scapes, and twisted Monteverdi like chants into charred, grim blocks of sound. I've heard some even go as far as to call them "post-black metal," which I don't want to get into... But the compositions are incredibly complex with what seems to be a hundred different parts in each song, and thousands of elements vying for supremacy at any moment; certainly nothing is ever a simple verse chorus verse in this album, nor is it a boring exercise in musical masturbation that some bands fall prey to. It's the devil in the details -- squiggles of high pitched guitar running through out every song, cascading over dense atonal chords; idiot-savant drumming, filling every little gap with a drum roll or manic off time fill; and a vocalist that has almost a speaking quality, albeit a crusty, grim black metal speaking quality. These elements can take on an almost drone-like quality of information overload, which is thankfully punctuated by catch your breath moments of dark clarity. It's definitely unlike any other black metal band I can think of -- simply everything is just one or two notches above anything else that has come from this often moribund genre, musically, aesthetically and lyrically, which are a lot like the music -- dense, heady explorations; it actually approaches more philosophy than the hum drum, "satan's gonna gitcha in the frosty Northern mountains," lyrics you find in most black metal. However, it's still grim and totally black metal, just more intellectually stimulating and, yes, meaningful. Apparently this album is the third in a metaphysical trilogy concerning the role of mankind, Satan and God. They've obviously put a lot more time into their ethos than most, as can be seen in only interview I have found with them: interview I have found with them. Actually, a part of what makes Deathspell Omega so fascinating is their arcane, highly detailed philosophy, and lack of interest in press. No one really knows who is in the band, and as far as I know, they don't play live. While I hesitate to use such superlatives-- this probably is the best black metal band around right now, and quite possibly the best metal band around right now in general. But really, that shit isn't very important. This is just a truly great album... |
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