Deathspell Omega - Paracletus review
| Band: | Deathspell Omega |
| Album: | Paracletus |
| Style: | Avantgarde metal, Black metal |
| Release date: | November 2010 |
01. Epiklesis I
02. Wings Of Predation
03. Abscission
04. Dearth
05. Phosphene
06. Epiklesis II
07. Malconfort
08. Have You Beheld The Fevers?
09. Devouring Famine
10. Apokatastasis Pantôn
Deathspell Omega's Paracletus was certainly one of the most anticipated Black metal releases of 2010. With a history such as theirs come high expectations. Expectations they do not live up to.
Whoops. Did I just spoil the ending for you?
No, Paracletus does not live up to the expectations, but that's no surprise really, when the expectations are so unbelievably high. There's no shame in that. Unfortunately, in my opinion Deathspell Omega also disappoints in terms of delivered insanity and intensity.
The cover art promises a lot - a raging ball of hissing snakes spawning from a fiery mouth. A very accurate depiction of their sound (later era) - a chaotic noise fest of dissonance guitar lashings, spiteful roars and thunder like drums. The music is quite different though - while there's still more chaos and dissonance than in many other Black metal bands, there's also a touch of... I don't know... softness? Paracletus sounds much... nicer than their previous work. As if they fused with Pelican or Mono... what the fuck? Yeah, while you'd be wrong to classify this as Post-Rock, there's definitely much, much more melody and feeling in this new album. And I'm not going to make it a secret that I miss the vicious brutality of Kénôse.
However, judged on its own merit - a chaotic, sonic Black metal assault, Paracletus is definitely a very good and fun album. The riffs are still mind-boggling (though less than before), the chaos is still overwhelming (though less than before), the vocals are still thundering and emotive (though less than before), the complexity of the songs/album is still something to marvel at (though less than before), the overall product is still very impressive and worthwhile (though less than before)... you know where I'm going with this, don't you?
Bottomline: a new direction for Deathspell Omega (maybe not the most desired one, but remember, that is not our decision to make) and a good and enjoyable album, with plenty of great stuff going on.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 8 |
 | Written on 11.11.2010 by If you're interested in extreme, often emotional and underground music, check out my reviews. I retired from reviewing, but I really used to be into that stuff. |
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Comments: 36
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| Dangerboner Lactation Cnslt Posts: 7262  |
So the EP's have nothing to do with the concept of the trilogy? Not even Chaining the K-thing?
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by Guest on 26.12.2010 at 01:06 That's what I read somewhere as well, but then somewhere else stating that that isn't the case eother. So, it's probably safest to not include them as part of the trilogy.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Guest on 26.12.2010 at 15:43 I did play the five in order as well yesterday (Christamss day  ) and even though playing the three full-lengths back to back already does the trick, playing the five back to back makes for an even better flow musicwise.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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