Black Metal History Month - LITOSTH : "Cesariana"

 

This Black Metal project from Brazil is doing big things on its third album. They are not just hitting you with blast beats, but hitting you with a massive cinematic scope of sound, that is being used to write songs. It carries a similar orchestrated grandiosity as Dimmu Borgir. This might not be seen as cvlt enough for some, but fvck them as these songs go somewhere and have their own sense of identity. This is coming from someone who is typically skeptical of black metal that is not from Northern Europe. These guys captured the spirit of that music and made it work for what they do. 

The cadence of the vocals comes closer to creating a hook than most black metal which says something about their songwriting ability. Any black metal band where the vocals are not solely obligatory screaming applied as an afterthought gets bonus points with me. Around  "The Clay Messiah" things begin to find a more uniform pounding and the songs start to fade into the background. It takes a second listen before the more subtle melodies stand out. The is more deliberate anger to the song that follows this, as it rides a tremolo-picked melody, but even with the more half-time sway, it bleeds together a bit. 

Their keen sense of songwriting returns on "The Argonaut". It finds the vocals once again being a vital centerpiece to the song, and accents creating the groove around them. Plenty of power and fury, but still catchy. The title track charges forward in the direction of more conventional black metal,. Not at a blast, but forcefully elegant. There is a sense of triumph. There are symphonic layers to it that work well, even if they are more grandiose than what I normally listen to, aside from Dimmu Borgir. When it builds into a blast beat it feels like the easy way out, though largely forgivable. 

The last song does not really feel like it introduces new sounds or dynamics but is a continuation of what they have already established here. At two minutes in when things slow, it works better than accelerating to blasting speed, and the synth string parts sound almost like a Dimmu tribute.,  I will give this album a 9, it might not get a ton of repeat listens for me, though I have enjoyed the spins I have given it, I think they are going in a well-deserved melodic direction with black metal that is not compromising the integrity of what it should stand for. This is dropping on Personal Records. 

pst51