The Pitch: Polish black metal band Outre follow up Ghost Chants with a sharp and aggressive new album from Debemur Morti Productions. FFO: Blaze Of Perdition, Ascension, Deathspell Omega
What I Like: More of that "hellfire black metal" for you this week. Once again, Outre do not dissapoint when it comes to conjuring fire and brimstone with nothing but scorching guitars and hearts filled with sin. Earth rending blastbeats and clearly Deathspell-influenced riffs pull the listener kicking and screaming into the tormenting flames like the final scene of Drag Me To Hell. The alternations of haunting eeriness with explosive bouts of tremolo fury make each eruption all the more impactful. And there's something just so maniacal in the persistent bending of the strings that brings the violence and derangement to a peak. That and of course the always impressive, death metal-tinged grimness of Mateusz Zborowski's vocals. I'm really digging the Schammasch-esque singing that occassionally crops up in addition to the usual howls, especially towards the end of the title track.
Critiques: When compared to Ghost Chants, this album takes a little time to really get off the ground. With an obligatory 2 minute intro followed by two somewhat generic opening tracks, I'm not quite feeling the same level of consistency. That said, once "Let the earth be silent" rolls around it's off to the races until the end.
The Verdict: Hollow Earth isn't the best or most innovative black metal album I've heard in 2018, but if you dig that hellfire sound, it's hard to go wrong with Outre. Even when lacking originality, you're unlikely to come across a song that is a chore to listen to. Definitely recommended listening, and if you somehow missed Ghost Chants, you should remedy that as well.
Flight's Fav's: Let the earth be silent, Distant Daylight, Aberrations
- Review by FlightOfIcarus
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