Debemur Morti have been rather quiet of late but the excellent label have a bit of a surprise in store for anyone waiting for something new on the label. I say new as what we get here is both new and old being an expanded double album edition of the classic 2001 album from Blut Aus Nord ‘The Mystical Beast Of Rebellion’ containing a whole disc of new material composed as a continuation / companion piece to the original album. This album was seen by many as “the band’s greatest work.” I am not going to disagree with the statement having not heard everything they have done and been divided between thinking of albums as genius and downright perplexing bewilderment. Like equally obtuse countrymen Deathspell Omega I admit to not always understanding the complexities of BaN’s music but with The Mystical Beast I felt at home straight away, although I hasten to add I am not saying it is easily accessible in the slightest.
The original album on the first disc is simply tracked as The Fall Chapters I-VI and the music explodes as soon as play is pressed with full might of battering blast beats and scything guitars behind it. At the time the album was the sole work of Vindsval and he is in a very brutal place here. The vocals are shrieked out full of hate and indignation and the melody (call it that) is ever constant lurching all over the place like a ship caught in a violent storm. The word ‘windswept’ is possible as a description although only really if you look at it at gale force and full destructive might. Things do slow eventually and mournful guitar even gets a bit of a solo spot however there seems to be a constant background buzzing as the thick tones of the production are lingering from previous assault. Even with what seems like a long pause between tracks there is a constant quiet rumbling suggesting the beast maybe slumbering but is just about to wake; sure enough he does venting full fury. I have said this before but the constant changing of melody and pitch behind the music does make you feel a bit ‘seasick’ or ‘punch drunk’ it’s disorientating and uncomfortable listening but it is something that BaN are very skilled at doing. Apart from the completely full on pace of the songs there are occasional ambient parts like a tinkling sound of chimes and tolling noise before things hellishly blast back in but on the whole this is delivered at a rate that makes you feel as though you need to hang on for dear life or you are going to get dragged through a precipice and descend rapidly down to hell. Chapter V works as a slower sinister bridge which I can envisage someone trying to get from one side to another as it precariously wobbles over the aforementioned maelstrom below. The sinister discordant tones of the track really make you shudder as they breathe pure fear and horror into the music. The final part installs the shredding fury and venom and carries it headlong to the albums warped out conclusion, although now it does not as the band that went on to deliver ‘The Work Which Transforms God’ have gone back in time and delivered something new and rather unexpected.
The new material is divided into three parts The Fall Chapters 7, 7 & 7, the last of them being a whopping 19 minutes long. It is instantly clear that this is a slower paced affair as it slumbers out spreading slothful contagion. It is lighter but no less oppressive and still unsettles. Guitars at times remind of very early Killing Joke and the vocal gurgles are truly fetid and foul. It certainly does seem in line with the material on the first disc but this is a lot more experimental in essence and certainly no step by step remake. At times things meander away, getting into an arcane sounding groove and really drawing you in hypnotically, this seems the way that the second of the sevens is constructed. You really notice the progressiveness seeping in on the third mammoth part and this has taken the album way beyond the realms of its initial black metal mindset. The sparseness of the music compared to the weight and delivery of the initial album makes it seem more like the work of the one person rather than necessitating a full band behind it which the original disc did. I guess there is not quite as much going on and this allows the harmonies to really work and get beneath the skin rather than the music being used as a tool to pretty much batter you senseless.
You probably could live with the one disc if you have the first rare press but it is very much worth getting the new edition to see what warped necromancy has been added and to listen to it as a companion piece. Now that I have both discs I am very unlikely to simply play the first and would make sure I had time for both before going back for repeated listens. Debemur Morti have triumphed with this release and for those that can get their heads round the sinister world of Blut Aus Nord this comes highly recommended.
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