Swedish Black Metal band Thornium have been around since 1993 but were “on hold” until 2007. Since then, in spite of ongoing line-up problems they have released “Mushroom Clouds and Dusk” (2009) and now “Fides Luciferius” on which we are promised “a celebration of the apocalypse, holocaust, death and hate”.
Stylistically, this is the creepier sort of Black Metal. Its dark and grim tones are reminiscent in some respects of Immortal and most definitely through its chilling atmosphere of Dark Fortress and Gorgoroth. It’s just a view of mine but there’s so much more that you can do with Black Metal when it’s measured in its pace. “Fides Luciferius” is constantly menacing and occasionally cranks up. It’s never short of intensity.
“Mother of Abominations” starts by signalling that the battle is about to begin. The machine-gun fire guitar, perpetuated by the drum, settles into a dark rhythm. Meanwhile the vocalist growls evil utterances. Although the guitar provides discomforting constancy, it’s easy to latch on to. “Fornication” croaks Thyph the vocalist, purposefully. We’re already in the battle zone. What we get to follow is meandering darkness, intensity, controlled rampages and deliberate malevolence. On “Son of the Dragon”, the guitar weaves menacingly in the background, picking up like a storm as the march into battle continues. We’re moving forward before being thrust back into chaos, and the omnipresent deliberate delivery before the track ends in a stuttering and yet darker fashion. “Qliphothic Raptures” is brilliant. Utterly spine-chilling, it slows down “like a slithering serpent”, to quote the lyric. It’s like Dimmu Borgir without the symphonic part. The drum adds power and it’s dark and bleak before once again we’re taken off impressively in another direction. It’s atmospheric and penetrating, indeed it’s “devouring, abrasive” – again, the music matches the lyrics. I didn’t totally get “Pacta Conventa” or “Virgin Destroyer Redeemer”, two difficult tracks both of which are harsh, discomforting and technical, but they are very much in the spirit of this work. The track “Fides Luciferius” is a dark sermon preached to the accompaniment of serenading Black Metal guitars. I could imagine Gaahl doing this. The guitar is the equivalent of the bells chiming. There’s a sense of chaos in the background. The rain and thunder can be heard. The skies can only be dark. The follow-up to this atmospheric piece is “Void of Choronzon”. Here we’re back to the Melodic Black Metal style. The beat is constant. The guitar is sufficiently low in pitch and long in chord to state its unpleasant intent. Thyph’s voice is like rusty nails and ads to the atmosphere of this great listener-capturing track. “Void of Choronzon” is intensely dark but full of toe-tapping excitement and skill. “I am Perfection” has an unexpected rock style beginning and solo running through the dark rhythm and the growling. It’s very Dark Fortress in its musical message and necrophilic style. A few lashes later, and the punishment ends. If “I am Perfection” is imperious, the final track “I am a God” is more so. It’s slower and more melancholic than previous tracks. Utterly menacing, there’s a Darkthrone-like repetitiveness and a bleak rhythm which is only interrupted by a solo. What makes this so impressive is the way in which the band controls the timing. The track and the album end with the guitar ringing out repetitively.
“Fides Luciferius” successfully creates the “apocalypse in audio”. Musically there’s a strong strain of Melodic Black Metal, but to generate the spine-chilling, it’s as much about presenting a series of dark perspectives. Thorium manage to do this extremely well.
http://www.myspace.com/thetruethornium
http://www.thornium.com
http://www.soulsellerrecords.com
