The Pitch: French black metal acts Malepeste and Dysylumn redefine the split release with a fully collaborative and deeply immersive new album via Goathorned Productions. FFO: Lihammon, Crimson Moon, Schammasch
What I Like: I didn't realize how much I was craving some atmospheric black metal until this album hit my queue. Much like the N.V. collab, this unholy union is far greater than the sum of its parts. Ce qui fut, ce qui est, ce qui sera (roughly, "What was, what is, what will be") is a haunting, mesmerizing voyage that appropriately trasncends time and space. Thanks to the spiraling tremolos, piercing, melodic leads, and cyclical songwriting passages, I find myself fully immersed in the cosmic soundscapes. Black and death vocals sermonize to the listener, goading us ever forwards into both light and darkness. Neither heaven nor hell, the aesthetic falls into a strangley cathartic space somewhere in between.
Critiques: The latter half of the album doesn't quite live up to the initial punch of the first half. It's all good, I just find myself coming back to the early tracks more.
The Verdict: Powerful stuff. There hasn't been a lot of year-end worthy black metal in my humble opinion in 2018, but hopefully this "split" will help change the tide. More importantly, I am glad to see more and more bands take this collaborative approach as opposed to going the old route of Side A/Side B. Definitely worth your time.
Flight's Fav's: Clotho, Lachésis, Nona
- Review by FlightOfIcarus
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