prosternatur – abyssus abyssum invocat (2016)

these awesome black metal releases that catch me off guard feel like such nice gifts. the debut album, abyssus abyssum invocat was released just yesterday (tomorrow, officially) and i had the sheer luck and high honour to taste its majesty. we know little next to nothing about prosternatur, who like to follow the new trend amongst newcoming black metal acts to be as obscure and enigmatic as possible and who seem to originate from various locations in europe. however, the quality of production and musicianship means this must a supergroup.

as the name and cover art suggests, the band follow and occult theme and the prelude is a sample of beautiful chanting / invocation. then the song “mortification of the flesh” bursts with immense energy, a mid-tempo double drum and insane riffing. then gradually picks up the pace, with lengthy blast beat sections and closes with the same chanting before. the third, ridiculously heavy track relies heavily on main theme repetition, in the same vein as early morgul. things take a turn to the more atmospheric, grim, eerie and discomforting palette of black metal as the songs proceed. the fourth song “eleusinian mysteries” is painfully slow and carries the gloomy atmosphere supported by keyboards and ringing guitars. the fifth one “scrying mirror” is quite pacey and chaotic, filled with insane shifts and screaming. the epilogue “heterodox” carries a stark contrast to the beautiful and comforting prelude, nightmarish organ and distorted words, probably revealing the voice of the invocated who is now awaken.

the album has a thick guitar & drum structure throughout, supported in times by keyboards and effects. there has to be at least two vocalists (or vocal layers), one quite heavy and throaty black metal vocal along with a brutal / operatic one (attila csihar – like) and this duality further emphasises the chaos that rules. besides being masterfully composed and played, the band seem to have a clear idea as to what they wanted to do. through these 36 minutes of occult black metal feast they take you to places and the horror never lets go.

caïna – christ clad in white phosphorus (2016)

another couple of weeks passed by with a cranky mood, listening to and not liking a number of albums, until finally… i came across caïna’s latest full-length “christ clad in white phosphorus”, which came out just 2 days ago, and it pinned me down my chair. behemoth of an album, completely cold, chaotic, lifeless and extremely heavy on the ears. the ear assaulting sound reminds of ulver’s black metal masterpiece nattens madrigal on songs and einstürzende neubauten-esque (though much angrier) industrial noise on interludes. so generous on the treble, the guitars and the shrieking vocals rip through your ear canals. the manic moments of blast-beat filled songs also reminded me of antaeus madness. a mention for the drum work is also in place, for masterfully setting the pace through all this thick mud. the british mastermind andrew curtis-brignell seems to be accompanied by a vocalist and a bass player on this album, contrary to the previous ones in which he did (almost) all the work.

through all that inaccessible wall of chaos, fury and industrial ear-attack though, caïna delivers so much material, artful variation and many ideas. the instrumental opener, completely void of any sympathy or any regard to an organic feel, tries to prepare the listener to what’s to come. which is a tough job, considering the second track “torture geometry” explodes with such unprecedented fury, with the signature over-the-top loud noise and industrial structure. noise and music begin to merge with the third track, “fumes of god”, while just as hostile, includes more layers of keyboards, followed by a lengthy interlude mostly of discomforting noise effects. then comes the oddball “gazing on the quantum megalith”, punk-infused and groovy, yet maintaining the uneasy and inorganic feel. after two more heavy songs intertwined with mad blast beats and keyboard/noise passages comes the highlight “pillars of salt”, a surprising jazz-drum attack. madness ensues with the 8^th track, probably the most nordic black metal sounding song with delightful tremolo. after the 12-minute long interlude of spoken word and noise, the closer, “christ clad in white phosphorus” is a black metal take on synth-pop.

it is just amazing the amount of unorthodox and even controversial material, that fits so masterfully in one album, while maintaining the uncompromising, industrial and inorganic feel. however, all this experimentation and variation results in the lack of continuation and coherence but i highly doubt if he cares. the album is quite inaccessible yet so rewarding once you plunge into it. and the madness takes you to places.