Deathspell Omega “Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum” CD

Released by the ever-intriguing Norma Evangelium Diaboli and The Ajna Offensive, "Fas—Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum" is the latest long-awaited full-length effort from the clandestine French black metal elite of Deathspell Omega—said to be the second chapter of a trilogy that began with "Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice". And, as expected, this material sees the group continuing to experiment with the boundaries and guidelines of "black metal" through generally lengthy compositions that traverse swirling dark ambient textures; the eerie, creeping dissonance of bizarre clean passages and jazz-inflected midpaced riffing; and the dominance of a frenzied pace that has become twisted and technical in a super-fucked-up way: Totally mangled riffs and erratic percussive blasts intertwine to form a densely reverberated sense of layering and resonance with little tinges of oddball progressive metal or even vague elements that could be described using the dreaded "post-rock" tag to some degree. All packaged in a six-panel digipack with a rather thick booklet rife with evidence of the curious lyrical substance, which reads more like a combination of narrative and philosophical text—arguably delivered in such a manner as well, in certain instances. Easily hopping from fluid and restrained to unhinged and over the top, it's just a strange, strange brew. There's no conceivable way in hell to provide a proper indication of what to expect through the written word, so you'll just have to listen for yourself and see what you make of it.

The feeling of destroying the capacity for inward peace, an insane dance with the angels of innocence amidst thorns and in frenzy, the warmth of a divine blessing, a daringness which prevailed over any imaginable fear hovering on the brink of a voluntary act of contrition, but soon all pales besides the cry this shattering truth wrests from all fellow men, there is more to it than suffering and sounds of suffering, it is a process that only the extinction of a divine soul could terminate. The eye can outstare neither the sun, nor death... if I sought God it was in delirium and in the delight of temptation.

The idea of salvation comes, I believe, from the one whom suffering breaks apart. He who masters it, on the contrary, needs to be broken, to proceed on the path towards the rupture...

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The Ajna Offensive