Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 10:14 PM by Nikos Nakos
Genre: Black / Death Metal
Country: Poland
Label: Agonia Records
Year: 2017
Poland: a country of music wonders. One of my favourite scenes for multiple reasons why. As long as a live and breathe, I pledge my allegiance to the Polish bands of the extreme sound that have emerged over the years. My affection towards this particular scene has been justified lately by Blaze of Perdition. Blaze of Perdition released their fourth studio album in late Novamber via Agonia Records, entitled “Conscious Darkness”. It’s consisted of just four tracks, though its total duration is 44 minutes. The album opens with a narrative sample taken from “The Young Pope” by Paolo Sorrentino, one of last year’s most successful TV series. Quite a striking choice, however it grabbed my interest from the very first second. What followed was a compositional and emotional tornado that left me in awe every time the record played. “Conscious Darkness” main characteristic is density. Density in everything. The guitars are crushingly heavy, with melodies that are fused with total chaos. For the most part, Black Metal prevails in the compositions, though that Death Metal-ish quality in drum patterns create a quite unique mixture of Black and Death Metal, that’s outside every ‘traditional’ form and structure. What we’re dealing with is the band’s own perception of extreme music. Utterly interesting guitar work, with an exploratory and adventurous kind of mood that makes “Conscious Darkness” an example of what paranoia sounds (or should sound) like. Of course, once again, one of the most special features of Blaze of Perdition is the manipulation of vocal melodies / scales. The vocals are emotional and intensely theatrical, attaching a certain quality of individual intimacy to the tracks. Evidently, the entirety of the tracks share the same elaborate climaxes and crescendos, as happened in Ancient Drama, when Katharsis emerged and cleansed our spirits. Give it chance and you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s not a mere record, it’s a whole experience. Should I had the time to devote myself consciously into the understanding of “Conscious Darkness”, the album would have been added to my Dirty Dozen 2017 list.
“Conscious Darkness” was mixed and mastered at Satanic Audio Studio.
4,5/6
