•
Rating: This split-album, the result of the work of two outstanding entities of the post-avant-whatever-it-is-black metal scene, will certainly not have gone unnoticed by the acolytes of the most wicked branch of all modern metal: the French entity Blut Aus Nord, exclusively owned by the good Vindsval, and the American duo Ævangelist, a young and sinister pair of noise-musicians Matron Thorn and Ascaris, emerge in the midst of this tumultuous 2016 with a work that, at least judging from the premises, seems to mark yet another step forward in their path studded with noisemaking, abstractionism, daring experiments, and assorted esoteric games - see the controversial cover art.
Rightly released under the aegis of the always-putrid Debemurti Morti, Codex Obscura Nomina already sounds like a delicious gourmet treat dedicated to those who savor darkness and virulence, seasoned with that hefty dose of sound research (often resting on the border separating it from pure pretentiousness) that has now become an essential trademark now that they have definitively left behind the old-school black metal stereotypes. Unfortunately, however, as much as the offering is of undoubted quality in my opinion, at the end of the listening, it leaves the impression that the expectations have not been fully met.
It's Vindsval who opens the macabre dances, unveiling his passion for cyber-industrial contaminations in four brief tracks: a somewhat predictable choice, considering his continuous hopscotch between ultra-melodic black metal and post-apocalyptic nightmares à la Godflesh, with a taste for anti-melody that violates the canons of the genre. Surely, the attack of Evanescent Hallucinations will make enthusiasts jump, once again witnessing the diseased genius of Blut Aus Nord amidst the usual martial drum machines and saturated walls of sound; a magmatic mass that advances slowly and inexorably, however abandoned to an unusually circular structure, devoid of any sort of climax or developments. The issue, if it can be defined as such, reappears with the subsequent tracks as well: Resonnance(s), as the title suggests, slows down the pace even more, allowing more space for the agonizing reverberations of the guitars; a track that, certainly, maximizes the mental deformities birthed by our mastermind, and the disturbing ambient substratum that pervades the entire BaN side alone would be worth the ticket price, yet it seems that the discourse is just outlined. The concluding Infra-Voices Ensemble manages to spice things up for a moment, with a horror-dance to wiggle on the dance floor next to Beelzebub in a latex tutu and the Black Lady with a scythe, albeit the overall feeling remains that one has witnessed a (great) exercise in style.
Things don't improve much with the Ævangelist's side, who participate in the party with a single 21-minute monolith: Threshold of the Miraculous raises some doubts regarding the structure, the arrangements, and even the mixing. The style is a bit more conventional than their cousin (father? grandfather?) Blut Aus Nord, and indeed it could be said that they've made an unexpected retreat compared to some of their works where putrefaction and avant-garde went hand in hand (see the last excellent Enthrall To The Void of Bliss, the granite debut of De Masticatione Mortuorum In Tumulis, or even that wonderful and unlistenable chaos that is Omen Ex Simulacra): we are therefore dealing with a mosquito-like and frayed black metal, produced haphazardly, yet still strong with the visionary flair of Matron Thorn, a multi-instrumentalist involved in numerous projects. The annoyingly dry and intrusive drums can be gotten used to pretty quickly, but compositionally there are still a few gaps here and there, due to sudden parentheses of cavernous psych-trip-hop (complete with not very convincing recitations) that fragment the listening a bit. The duration also seems to extend beyond what is necessary, rendering this track a gem for aficionados only, who aren't afraid of feeling disoriented (or bored, or irritated) at first listens. It does not reach the unimaginable heights of madness of Omniquity (same scope, quite different results), but the guys still remain good alchemists, creators of unhealthy atmospheres that I have seldom experienced.
Overall, the split suffers from the aforementioned little issues, in addition to the lack of a true synergy of intents: on one side Ævangelist in slight regression, on the other Blut Aus Nord resting a bit on their well-deserved laurels; a partly missed opportunity, or mere diversion? In any case, reiterating that these are still works of a certain level, I am already eager to hear them again separately: both projects already have new material in the pipeline (Vindsval, prolific and unstoppable, has even mentioned two albums) that will 'see the light' next year, and I will be waiting for them at the crossroads.
Loading comments slowly
