The Pitch: Progressive black metal from Croatia's Exterior Palnet to save us from a relatively mundane year in the genre. Early Enslaved, early Satyricon, Sacramentum
What I Like: If you ask me, 2017 was relatively slow for solid black metal when compared to the year before. While there were a handful of standouts like Drouth, most of them left me pretty underwhelmed. Thankfully, Dorsia from Exterior Palnet delivers pretty much everything I could hope for in a standard black metal release. While it lacks some of the bells and whistles of groups like Schammasch, it 100% nails the mood, atmosphere, and aesthetic. The cavernous, echoing production, subtle synth ambience, wretched guitars, and raw vocal performances come together perfectly to recall classics like Far Away From The Sun and Frost. But the band also has a contorted side to offset the atmospheric elements. "IV," in particular has twisted riffs and song structuring that are more reminiscent of Deathspell Omega and Imperial Triumphant.
Critiques: Overall, Dorsia is a pretty consistent album. The only minor tweak I would recommend is trimming some of these runtimes. The longer tracks start to get bogged down in repetition, and the album overall loses some steam in the second half.
The Verdict: Exterior Palent have scratched an itch that has been lingering for the better part of this year. It's not a perfect or particularly innovative album, but its natural flow and seemingly effortless channeling of the past make it one my top 3 black metal albums of 2017.
Flight's Fav's: II, IV, VII
-Review by FlightOfIcarus
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with others to help us grow. You can also like and follow us on the social media of your choice with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon.