Deathspell Omega - Kénôse

Line up: Unknown

Black metal fans, thank Beelzebub that a band like Deathspell Omega even EXISTS. Considering the costumed, face-painted farce that modern black metal has become, a parody enacted by scenester clowns and two-bit ‘'depressive black metal'' Burzum knockoffs, it is always pleasing to know that there's a band you can take seriously on a philosophical and musical level. Deathspell Omega aficionados are already acutely aware of the band's fearsome capacity to bewitch, their last masterpiece 'Si Monumentum Circumspice, Si Requires' straying from the more typical Nordic template of 'Inquisitors Of Satan', delving into psychedelic, spellbinding territory. Adorning their intoxicating labyrinths of sound with grotesque medieval occult imagery, 'Si Monumentum…' was an aesthetic and conceptual triumph, its corridors haunted by ancient villainous spirits, its every pore oozing with bilious, primordial evil.

Conceived as an appendix to last year's 77 minute epic, 'Kénôse' sees DSO plunging further into the depths of tormented delirium, further exploring the discordant cacophony that was so prevalent in 'Si Monumentum...', juxtaposing this unhinged dissonance with a growing willingness to embark on meditative, introspective passages. Stunningly, what this all amounts to is a lucid portrait of a band at the very apex of their creative powers, one that somehow manages to unite the skincrawling ghastliness of 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas', the disorienting quirk of Shining, the frigid, spectral harmonics of vintage Satyricon, the lugubrious sprawl of Esoteric and a progressive, tangential edge that is all their own. Where 'Si Monumentum...' treaded a more linear path, segmenting despondency (the ‘'prayers'') and balls-out fury into separate hymnals, 'Kénôse' is an exhilarating, often perplexing listen that proves several times more confounding than its predecessor, catapulting the listener through a cataclysmic cascade of shifting tempos and impenetrably dissonant swathes of sound.

In so many senses, 'Kénôse' represents a more consummate realization of all the embryonic ideas on 'Si Monumentum…'- while said LP was FAR from predictable, flawlessly contrasting a minimalistic aesthetic with a yen for off-kilter arrangements, all the trappings that might have constrained DSO's vision have truly been severed for this go-around. The band exhibit absolutely no reservations here, giving each idea sufficient time to germinate and develop. Lurching passages are indulged for long enough to truly unnerve the listener (the ritualistic, contemplative section that opens the EP lingers for an entire 4:30 before shifting into high gear), blasting sections are more intricately constructed and angular. Trebly guitars are conscientiously layered atop one another while the drums pursue a nauseating array of flabbergasting rhythms.

There's almost a Voivod-esque ethic here, with riffs repeating themselves only to truncate themselves a bar early, the drummer seemingly holding a steady beat before disrupting any perceivable linearity with an awkward fill or stroke. As if this wasn't complex enough, the basslines, which largely supplement the rambling, volatile lead lines, spontaneously paves it own passage in many sections here, taking a MUCH more active role than on 'Si Monumentum' and further convoluting an already exhausting mix. Just when it all seems far too much to compute and digest, DSO insert a bare, cavernous funereal section into the fray, despotically stark passages that prove just as oppressive as the busiest sections of the record. Throughout, much like Voivod, DSO manage to conjure a calamitously claustrophobic feel without ever sounding messy or nebulous- everything is deliberate and disciplined, immaculately walking the tightrope between utter mayhem and restraint. Again, DSO scorn modern conceptions of musical structure, willfully defying the expectations of a listening public accustomed to 4/4 rhythms and straightforward classical conventions. Even in its most naked sections, this record is depraved, audaciously disdainful of any definable musical standards.

As per DSO tradition, the booklet included with this release is bedecked with extensively researched Satanic imagery and text, the band starkly opposed to the haphazardly juvenile, poorly-phrased satanic proclamations of several lesser outfits. I urge you to purchase this record and sit down with the booklet yourself, and will refrain from offering my own perspective regarding the lyrics and references, for the purpose of the booklet is for the listener to derive his own interpretations and inferences. As with all great music, this record will likely have a polarizing effect amongst the general public- you will either loathe it or adore it, and the significance of its content will vary greatly between individuals. Whatever your reaction to 'Kénôse', I assure you that it WILL have a visceral impact on you and that you WILL react to it in an urgently extreme way- whether it be repulsion or attraction…this isn't music that you can be indifferent towards. While this can be said about certain other bands (Blut Aus Nord and Eikenskanden for instance, who I find to be absolutely horrible), Deathspell Omega, in my mind, stand far and above absolutely everything else, a true trailblazer that single-handedly redeems the clownish missteps of its schlocky contemporaries. An absolute must, even if you hate black metal.

July 10th, 2005