The Pitch: Flight jumps on this train WAY late to celebrate the acid-soaked black metal of Philly's Skáphe.
What I Like: On first sample, I thought this was just going to be a super-dense wall of sound made up of blastbeats, post-metal guitars, and howling; but that's only part of the truth. There are certainly some Ulcerate-y moments throughout, but Skáphe² also mixes things up with some slower, quieter moments not unlike Leviathan, earlier Deathspell Omega or Malthusian. The resulting pacing makes this downward descent very rewarding, with plenty of excellent set pieces along the way. The vocals are horrifying, the bass guitar breaks chilling, and the drummer may be the most talented of the bunch.
What I Don't Like: The one problem I have with releases like this is that even though they are so tortured and haunting every time I listen to them, the songs don't always stick with me afterwards. I also wonder if this isn't a little too much like the work of Wrest.
The Verdict: Skáphe² is a disturbing tour through the layers of hell very much in the vein of other atmospheric, genre-defying masterpieces like Scar Sighted.
Flight's Fav's: "III," "I"
