Deathspell Omega | ‘Drought’

Deathspell Omega. The swirling, chaotic shrieks and blasts the name evokes are apt – after a breathless trio of warped and bizarre black metal albums and interspersed EPs.

This newest chapter of the DSO tome is viewed by many to be a closing hymn for this epoch of the secretive group’s current journey. It is worthy of that honour at the very least.

The structure of this unconventional release (it is short, at twenty one minutes, and contains six rather standard length tunes) is to crush four dense, abrasive tracks between two almost positive instrumentals.

The flanking tunes are crammed with varying degrees of shoegaze, post metal and even a touch of harmonized vocals. This may split opinion, but the meat in the sandwich is classic, suffocating Deathspell Omega.

We’ve come to know what that is. There is violence and vehemence, all compounded by the peerless musicianship on display.

Within the confines of a short EP, and with the aforementioned intro and outro tracks, the density and compression of the listening experience is incredible.

The relatively slow placed ‘Sand’ and the evil ‘Scorpions and Drought’ are contrasted effortlessly with the melodic swirls and sonic shock relayed in ‘The Crackled Book of Life’.

This is truly the vanguard of modern black metal, and the consistant quality being delivered is imperious.

For a band noted for an anarchic form of almost incoherent black metal, the beginnings of conformity from ‘Paracletus’ are sealed further to the roll of DSO on this record. The production is probably the best that they have dredged from the depths thus far. It’s claustrophic, yes, but it has a purity that truly enhances what this band offer.

There maybe some shouts of Dillenger Spell Omega from the enemies of mathcore amongst the brethren on account of the guitar sound. Really though, that’s a minor quibble and has been overblown by others.

On the contrary, this EP may be the most easily digested yet released by the band.

And so the march of these foul Frenchmen continues unabated with this excellent release. A minor flaw is the overcooked art work, but I’m nitpicking, nothing more.

What we have here is cracking EP in many ways. Aggressive and murderous, one of the best to hit my speakers in 2012. Essential.

4.5 / 5 – Kevin Jacob ::: 11/07/12