While The Ruins of Beverast has shifted stylistically from one album to the next, one thing that’s never changed is Alexander von Meilenwald’s ability to captivate listeners for long spans of time. In a time where attention spans are shorter than ever and metal bands have a tendency to run out of ideas when trying to crack the ten-minute mark, each of the group’s albums has spanned over an hour and not felt like it at all. Meilenwald’s knack for weaving a narrative both through instrumentation and vocal performance has had a sense of completeness to it, and the methodical nature of the material explains the four-year gaps between full lengths. 2017’s Exuvia brought a psychedelic tinge to The Ruins of Beverast’s powerful black metal and doom that felt like it was capable of inducing an out of body experience, and after the usual cadence of shorter releases last year that usually signal that a new album isn’t far off, The Thule Grimoires arrives to once again showcase some tweaks to the formula. With a new emphasis on gothic elements that brings a much more somber and sorrowful atmosphere to the darker and unsettling moments, Meilenwald shows yet again that he’s unstoppable.
Let’s get a few things out of the way first, The Thule Grimoires doesn’t have the same immediacy as its predecessor and doesn’t feel like as big of a stylistic shift compared to some of the other points in the band’s discography. Compared to the methodical build-up of “Exuvia” opening the last album, this time “Ropes Into Eden” starts things off with equal amounts of pummeling riffing and softer, exploratory sections that change the tone significantly. It’s a very dense piece to start off with and did take a few listens for me to start to really get an appreciation for, but the more time you spend with The Thule Grimoires the more the overall flow starts to make sense. As you get further in the details of what Meilenwald has focused on for this record start to pop out at you, with elements of gothic metal and even a little ambient coming through as these songs twist and turn. There are still black metal and doom at the core of the writing, but parts of “Kromlec’h Knell” and “Deserts to Bind and Defeat” bring the somber beauty of Type O Negative to mind while the electronic edge and creepier melodies on “Mammothpolis” remind me of some of Nine Inch Nail’s instrumental tracks on The Fragile. It can be hard to integrate this type of sorrowful tone into the crushing nature of the extreme variants of metal, but it’s pulled off skillfully here with songs that have well-timed pauses and melodic flourishes. Michael Zechs has once again handled the production, giving The Thule Grimoires that same feeling of grandeur and immensity as its predecessor while also allowing the softer moments to really break through.
As the years have progressed Meilenwald’s vocals have shifted just as much as the instrumentation, as he’s experimented with a slew of different harsh and clean ranges. On this album he’s explored even more of the cleaner side, though “Ropes Into Eden” greets listeners with raspy screams that tower over the recording. There are noticeable differences to the screaming though, as they often move at a faster cadence and have a greater sense of urgency compared to the more methodical approach of Exuvia. But it’s the singing that’s likely to take the spotlight this time around, with Meilenwald sounding surprisingly close to Peter Steele on the aforementioned “Kromlec’h Knell” at times. “Deserts to Bind and Defeat” also has some of the softest singing I’ve heard from The Ruins of Beverast yet, and it brings a different overall tone to the material. With each release Meilenwald seems to push himself to try to bring in new elements and they always end up fitting with the final result.
Since I became familiar with this band courtesy of 2009’s Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite, The Ruins of Beverast’s ever-shifting doom and black metal has made them one of my favorites. Their latest remains just as stunning from beginning to end, and while it demands a bit more time to sink in compared to Exuvia the flirtations with the somber beauty of gothic rock and metal makes the album have plenty to draw listeners back. It remains to be seen where The Thule Grimoires will ultimately land in the ranks of the group’s discography (out of the most recent efforts I still like Exuvia and Blood Vaults just a bit more), but this still remains one of the best releases you’re likely to hear all year despite it only being February. The Thule Grimoires is available from Ván Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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