Have not checked out anything by this Belgian Black Metal band since their 2016 album. This one carries a more refined throb and finds them having grown as songwriters. Perhaps I just needed to give them time to grow into themselves. There is a bit of crazed howling on the second song that is not as focused as the opening song, but it makes sense why they do what they are doing. This does not mean I will excuse excessive blast beats if that is what we run into on this album, though they are showing some restraint in this regard on the first two songs.
They are possessed by a more rabid frenzy going into "Cacodaemon". There are some atmospheric sonic swathes, but this song rages with reckless abandon until the creepy breakdowns. Things continue down a more feral path for "Sum Quod Eris." The drums are buried in the guitars as the vocals snarl and shriek. It is effective as an emotional outburst, as a song; there is nothing to hook into this frenzied attack. It almsot feels like it devolves into screaming for the sake of screaming. "Grim Vengeance" finds the drums blasting off before the guitars find their footing. The vocals continue their animalistic rant.
There is a more thrashing buzz to "Mother of Abominations". This is coupled with the rawer production values, which are only balanced out by the more intentional riffing that gets over-taken here and there by blasting. This also creates a more melodic drone. Yes, there is a creepy darkness to what they do. This is often eclipsed by the storm they churn up with their chaotic blizzard of tremolo picking. The last song is not an exception to this. I will round this down to an 8. The last album I reviewed by these guys earned a 6, so that is a great deal of growth. If you want some chaotic black metal, these guys have what you want. It drops on Amor Fati September 6th.
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