Industrial and grainy Black Metal sounds greet us and reverberate through this album. The term is Black Powernoise. We’re not far in style and sound from from Dødheimsgard or Aborym. The band in this case is Vesthia from Italy. “In Aeternum Deleti” is their second full release in their 14 years of existence.
For sure this album is not about blasting us out of existence. I appreciated that. It’s more about infiltrating every vein of our body with deep cuts and terrible images. So it begins with “Horrete Coela”. Sounding as if war is being waged and carnage is all around us, it continues powerfully and theatrically. The spoken word is used a lot, and “In Vidi Splendere” starts as if a dictator is addressing the masses. But then the dark instrumental tones and ponderous industrial crashing create a new image of funerals and punishment. The preaching goes on. The mood changes again for the title track “In Aeternum Deleti”. This time we have blast beats but still the sirening guitars and terrible screams and exhortations flood the scene. The harsh atmosphere is the counterbalanced by a kind of melancholia as it reaches its dark end. The more familiar slow beat returns for “Iugum Mei Sceleris”. Progress on this track is akin to walking through a muddy field. The despairing growls go on. I was starting to lose interest but the track picks up with a long, melancholic march.
“Manus et Voluntas” signals another direction change. This one is almost Progressive as the guitar work becomes more mixed. Occasionally and unusually lush tones partner the more familiar dark onslaught. The dictator is back and with the music becoming more frenzied the tempo is raised. “Manus et Voluntas” is not especially easy to listen to. It’s a complex and layered track on which the guitars strike up an edgy atmosphere. “Ut Sibulus Flagelli” starts in an interesting way with the deep sound of a bell and a nice acoustic rhythm. The build-up is patient and it leads to a dark chant, rising further to a state of anguish with the support of the urgent drums. The vocalist speaks over the majestic guitar rhythm. It’s a fluid and moody track which ends as it began. Finally war and fighting return. A dark electro feel merges into a funereal rhythm. The drum taps out a deathly beat. The guitars ring as the vocalist growls out his message. Like “Ut Sibelus Flagelli” before it, “Vos Gloriam Consequi” has a deliberate shape in spite of a number of elements passing through. Quiet erupts into anguished fury, marked by machine-gun fire drumming. Melancholy and sadness then creep in and overshadow the belligerent mood. “Vos Gloriam Consequi” is an interesting track with interesting sound patterns.
This album is undoubtedly creative and works well around the field of atmospheric and industrial Black Metal sounds. I did however get the feel of a demo. Visthia try out a lot of different atmospheres and create a lot of dark impressions, but I didn’t get any sense of what it was all driving at. In terms of Black Metal ambiance it won me over at various stages but I felt that it was lacking something as a complete package.
http://www.myspace.com/visthia
Andrew Doherty
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