ILL OMEN: "Divinity Through Un-creation"

It always amazes me how it can be Australia that summons some of the darkest black metal out there right now, and this is very much thanks to Ill Omen along with such related names as Atra and Temple Nightside. These bands, that consider themselves as a part of OAA - a certain brotherhood I presume – share a very similar sound and aesthetic. While there are minor differences, like Temple Nightside having a slighty more deathened edge, the same pitch black, haunting, horrorful atmosphere connects all these acts.

Ill Omen has finally reached the release of their debut full-length after various demos and an EP (all in the record shelves of yours truly) and this major opus is known by the name Divinity Through Un-creation. Within the eerie vocal bookends (”Utterance Befell the Curse”, ”Of Those Silenced...”) reside seven tracks of dusty, primitive and sinister black metal laden with heaps of reverb that only builds the harrowing feeling of the album, and it certainly makes sure that this is not about tight guitar riffs, this is about an atmosphere that has been evoked from the deepest hells. A ritual.

Musically, I had hard time with Divinity Through Un-creation at first because it sounds so close to its earlier records as well as those brother bands I mentioned. To enjoy the album from a more neutral point of view, it was mandatory to try to neglect the sameness of the music compared to Ill Omen's back catalogue, and focus on what the band offerd right here and right now. Only after that I realize that these songs are certainly the finest handwork of the band: not that the album ever surprises its listener, but the evil and ghostly riffs have just about enough catchiness in them to be rememberable, like on the first proper track ”Sins of the Flesh” that has probably the simpliest 'old school' riffs of the bunch, or the sweet interplay between the slowly plucked and rapidly tremolo fired guitar inferno at ”Sentinels Beneath a Heaving Earth”. Or the latent melancholy within the oppressiveness of ”Gnosis” or... By now I realize that I could mention certain highlight moments from every track, which is a very good sign.

Divinity Through Un-creation opened slowly, so please do give it enough time and try forgetting the similarities to earlier works. The overall atmosphere has always been top-notch on OAA recordings and while this album does not differ at all at that, it is the slightly better songwriting that makes Divinity Through Un-creation a tad better effort, probably my favourite piece of Australian black metal from 2011 along with Drowning the Light's Oceans of Eternity and Pestilential Shadows' Depths.

4 / 5

ATRA: "Up-turning the Curse"

It hasn't been that many months since Atra's previous release, namely the second full-length In Reverence of Decay, came out and here this seemingly prolific dark entity already offers brand new material in the length of an EP. Consisting of six songs, of which two are droning bookends, Up-turning the Curse does not surprise a listener who is familiar with his back catalogue, and so the question is more about are you up for another trip through harrowing graveyards in pitch black, lurking darkness, or have you had your share of the style by now.

The first piece of the EP, ”Invocation of the Departed”, revels in setting the deadly ambiance, followed by ”Wander the Absence” which gets into the low fidelity black metal where the band does not take many compromises. It's ghastly as hell, there's no question of that even if the actual compositions aren't that special. This particular song does contain an old schoolis power chord riff at one point which is a nice change. The eponymoys ”Up-turning the Curse” belongs to the highlights of the EP, it is a ritualistic piece of pummeling tom drums, desperate and haunting screams and, perhaps most importantly, sinister synth mats. ”Harbringer (II)” crawls forth slowly with discordant plucking until it turns into a more straightforward affair of underground black metal. Its ending is probably the most surprising thing in the whole EP as it's one first times when Atra gets into a melancholic, melodic climax close to Drowning the Light's recent output. ”Graveless Apparitions” involves some wild guitar work but doesn't stand out as much as some other pieces here, and ”Possession” closes the experience in a nicely textured ambient atmosphere.

Comparing Up-turning the Curse with Atra's other output is a challenge since the music hasn't branched much off from the style they've been doing since the first demo. What is a definite plus, however, is the shorter running time: now Atra sounds more focused than ever and perhaps it's also a bit easier to digest in smaller dosages than as a full 40-minute monster. A mandatory purchase for the followers of the current Australian scene (Ill Omen, Harvest and a dozen more) and for all others also a nice example of underground black metal where the atmosphere is spot on.

3.5 / 5

TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE: "Prophecies of Malevolence"

Ambient and black metal often walk hand in hand, and how could that not be true when we consider something like Temple Nightside's debut EP Prophecies of Malovelence that is so lush in atmosphere that the actual metal instrumentation gets very blurred in the highly ambient soundscape. No, this isn't the kind of beautiful black metal ambient á la ColdWorld or Vinterriket, this is something from the depths of the underworld where all sinister resides.

Lo-fi production, richly atmospheric sound and utter evilness isn't, however, a new thing to many of these late Australian black metal groups that the country has spawned lately, such as Atra and Ill Omen – the latter project being responsible of Temple Nightside as well. The only major difference between those acts and Temple Nightside is that this is a more deathened effort: although I'd say this is still prominently black metal with all the tremolo work and discordant pluckings, the vocal pitch is way lower, resulting in some sort of whispered grunts, plus there's plenty of death metal esque, palm muted riffing within the mix.

But I do not believe that any review of Prophecies of Malevolence should focus solely on the metal because around half of the EP's length comprises the harrowing, droning ambient. It's harsh and distant as the other tracks, and very evocative and malignant. It's rare to come by this well done 'interludes' but these Australians are definitely on the right track when it comes good blackened ambient.

27 minutes pass fast, but in a way it is only good that the EP isn't prolonged. This is just about the right length for a style in which the musical style doesn't much vary and where the echoing, blurry sound might dull the listener after a half an hour. Adorned with a great looking cover art, I find Prophecies of Malevolence a worthy experience. It is not quite extraordinary, as there's not much personality in the actual riffs, but any fan of deep atmosphere in their evil black metal better check this one out.

3.5 / 5

ATRA: "In Reverence of Decay"

Since the day in 2009 when I discovered that the Drowning the Light guitarist Blackheart had spun off a project of his own, back then named Atra Sacramentum, I've been an active hunter for more material, and luckily he has provided tons of it lately, In Reverence of Decay being already the second album, and there's also a newer EP, Up-turning the Curse, out as well.

Nothing major has been changed from the deadly, cold and ghastly scheme he properly began to explore with last year's debut Death Coven. The deal is low fidelity underground black metal with a very genuine aura of oppression, discordance and latent melancholy. There's a strong focus on general atmosphere which becomes clear at the beginning when the introductory ”Of Mysteries Ancient” sets the creepy mood and then flows seamlessly into sinister chord pluckings of ”Possessed by the Night”. The follow-up ”Majestic Evil” is a tad faster than its predecessor, using blast beats which are quite a rare sight on In Reverence of Decay. It is mostly slow menace what comes to the album's general tempo settings, but the aforementioned track along with the tad more melodic ”The Souls of the Arcane Dance” (which could almost fit onto a Drowning the Light record) are a few exceptions to the rule.

It is evident that Blackheart has never tried to come up with something amazingly inventive with Atra, but what is certain is that he is a master of atmosphere, and while some may disagree, I think he's done better job at that here on In Reverence of Decay than on Death Coven. The ambient bookends flow so flawlessly together into the metal you don't always even notice the change. The overall sound on the album is top-notch, reeking of all that is possibly evil and wrong, and esoteric. The vocal performance deserves a mention too, as the mid-range, resounding rasps, fit perfectly into the album's soundscape. Definitely a recommended purchase, but I still believe that he's able to craft even a better whole, hence the 'moderate' score.

3.5 / 5

PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS: "Depths"

Australian black metal underground has been bustling for the past few years, offering a lot of high quality filthiness in the forms of e.g. Atra, Ill Omen, even the infamous Drowning the Light, Forbidden Citadel of Spirits, and... the list could go on. Pestilential Shadows, on the other hand, has somehow evaded my attention until now that their fourth full-length, Depths, is out, absorbing people’s any possible happy thoughts with its utmost melancholy and madness.

As soon as the first tremolo firings of ”Lost Geists of the Sunlight Sphere” come out, the listener is introduced to the vast soundscape where guitars have the primary role, and hell how massive they do sound. The drums, although somewhat (and only slightly) plastic sounding, keep the pace steadily with blast beats, while guitars retain their ominous melodies. Even though there isn’t an excess of reverb, the sound is abyssal, fittingly. Short passages of acoustic guitars and even choirs (e.g. ”Tribulations of Man”) are also added to the mix, ensuring an endurable whole.

Throughout the 55 minutes, the melodies balance between truly touching sadness and savage evilness: ”Putrid Earth” - having also Azgorh from Drowning the Light handling the vocals - is the most heart-wrenching melancholic piece of the bunch, the latter part of the song strongly reminding me of Drudkh’s Forgotten Legend’s remarkable ”False Dawn”. I could listen to ”Putrid Earth’s” ending chord progression for dozens of minutes. Yeah, it’s that mesmerizing. Then there’s the more aggressive side of the band, visible on e.g. ”Architects of the Spear” and ”Poisoner”, that shows the band’s ability to create utterly sinister melodies with success.

There are times when Depths seems to be a little stagnant, but those moments are few and far between, so for the most part Depths is a really enjoyable experience, and takes its place somewhere among my current top 10 of the year. Fans of the Australian scene should be checking out this album by now, as long as the fairly modern production isn’t a hindrance. At least in this case it shouldn’t hinder anyone, because the compositional work here alone is on such high level.

4 / 5