I’m beginning to think this Mories de Jong guy is stalking me. I only just recovered from reviewing De Magia Veterum album and barely a pause for breath and this one pops up. Of course Gnaw Their Tongues last full length was not that long ago either. How many one man bands can one man actually have? I am yet to discover Nekrasov and Aderlating and I am sure there are others I am not even aware of. Cloak Of Altering is the latest one and is possibly not named after something from a Harry Potter book but hell, it could well be. You put the cloak on and turn into…? Nope listening to this album I don’t even want to know but it would be some bizarre Moreau like creation I am sure.
‘The Night Comes Illuminated With Death’ is a great album title and would have been an even greater giallo film name. It is described as seeing the prolific artist worshipping at the altar of early Emperor, Arcturus and Dødheimsgard. I don’t completely see this, although it is perhaps more blackened and less symphonic than other things I have heard by him, it is still far more abrasive than the first couple mentioned there and sonically even blows DHG at their most deranged right out the water.
There is nothing subtle about the start of the album ‘I Diabolus, Fallen And Vengeful’ hits you hard in the face with everything coming in at once. It’s a wall of noise and even when it calms down slightly it is disorientating and a quagmire of sound. Drums hollowly thud, vocals shriek and bass can be heard throbbing. I guess there is an Emperical swagger about this and the clean vocal parts occasionally come through but it’s all turned up to the max and a highly volatile mix. The track goes into some sparse electronics with the buzzing of flies and does remind a little of Thorns and Aborym so I guess there are aspects of earlier black metal lurking here amidst the mad scientific maelstrom of sonic obliteration. I love the swirling keyboard cavalcade of the track ‘Cloak Of Altering’ it disappears into the void but can be heard perpetuating it later amidst the gruff and storming vocal intonations. The whole thing sounds as though a mad wizard is constructing a particularly malevolent spell, one that will wreak complete devastation. The six long tracks do occasionally break to proffer a bit of ambience but it always strikes as the calm before the storm. This one does and the gurgling vocals that come in remind a little of the demented Diabolos Rising along with the madcap creations of Urfaust. The title track adds a touch of pathos and has a funeral march lurking in the shadows, the pronounced bass sound really makes an interesting focus point but again when everything flies in, the keyboard madly unravelling sounds completely fantastical.
As a whole, the album is quick to pummel you into submission and can leave you feeling drained by the halfway mark. You really need to focus on it to get the most out the listening experience as there is plenty going on and it is not even that long running a scant 36 minutes in total. Austere horns sound in with ‘The Lustful Façade Of The Madrigals’ and the music descends into chaotic noise which only the most unhinged soul will completely survive.
I wouldn’t particularly use the words “like” and “this album” in the same sentence, it is more a case of surviving it akin to watching the most gruesome Japanese bloodbath of a film, and being pleased you made it to the end. It is a bit of an ordeal and a challenge, but who wants to dwell in the safe and normal all the time anyway? The universe could well be about to end anyway and it does here in style with the climatic ‘Golden Radiation Fills The Void.’ This is music to experience rather than listen to; question is are you up to the challenge?
Pete Woods
http://www.myspace.com/cloakofaltering
Pete Woods
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