KÉNÔSE

"Kénôse" signifies the act of Jesus Christ degrading from his divine traits to a simple, mortal being by having the mission to rejoice with humanity. For this, he has to obey faith and live until his death by crucifixion.

Deathspell Omega's recent extended play record, with the same name, portrays this in an astonishing way. However, they have reinvented this with luciferian and metaphysical principles. It is the man trying to establish a relationship between God and Satan. A balance, an equilibrium between the two deities if I can put it this way. The three tracks of this album are not ordinary songs. In fact, they are citations that Deathspell Omega might have invented. I am unsure if the lyrical content is either pure ingeniosity or simply taken from historic books about Lucifer. None-the-less, it is simply incredible. Here are examples from each tracks :

"Kenosis, O theory of great peril! Blinded, sanguineous eyes and with a trembling hand..." (Taken from the first song.) "Instigating manifold quadrants of industrialised death, an avid Moloch, never satiated, an endless Feast..." (Taken from the second song.) "The fruit that is forbidden holds the greatest potential for providing infinite knowledge..." (Taken from the final song.)

On a musical and professional aspect, the members are unknown. They refuse almost all interviews, which is surprising for a brilliant band such as Deathspell Omega. The music, simply put, is not your ordinary type of black metal. Hailing from Paris, France, this black metal outfit modernizes black metal and makes it more mysterious and enigmatic, which where the artwork displayed in the booklet comes in. The painter is clearly a talented one. Truely bizarre and sinister, you can have a small clue to what he is referring to. The 40- page booklet displays citations, quotes from the Bible, famous authors and even existential quotes.

Back to the musical aspect, the first track begins with the cymbals reflecting slowly, beat by beat and then, the guitar riffs appear on a frightening, slow pace, which reminisce the works of Neurosis and Cult Of Luna but in Deathspell Omega's own twisted, blackened version. Four minutes after this, you can hear an opera sample and then, this is where things get tense. Pure raw black metal making its way in the track, making Darkthrone proud. The second track is more psychedelic and technical than the precedent one. The final track is what black metal is about. Violent, sinister and decadent but a little bit more melodic. At the end of the track, the sound gets more of an ambient touch, almost transforming into doom metal with Sunn O))) as the background musicians.

Overall, Deathspell Omega have proven to be the most unpredictable and the most mysterious black metal band to have ever walked this planet. At this moment, I would consider this band to be on the top of the mountain in black metal. Why? Three reasons, their musicianship is undeniable, the sound is more intense than usual black metal and the main theme displayed both in the album and in the artwork, all credits sent to the painter and creator of the booklet by the way, is more developed than before. Deathspell Omega might be a "religious" band. However, do not waste your money on Satyricon's new record, with all due respect to this band. They might be and will be a good run for your money.