FAS - ITE, MALEDICTI, IN IGNEM AETERNUM

It boggles the mind that a fairly nondescript black metal act named DEATHSPELL OMEGA, having only emerged in 1999 from their undisclosed crypts somewhere in France, began as an average second wave act simply regurgitating the Nordic templates that had been sewn by the likes of Mayhem and Darkthrone. After crafting two rather generic and by-the-numbers releases, this mysterious cult of undisclosed characters suddenly transmogrified from commonplace to an unabashed innovating force on the black metal scene with their 2004 release "Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice." Not only did this band introduce the progressive extreme metal music world to a hitherto unparalleled sophistication in lyrical and musical content, but struck a few nerves as the rather reactionary blasphemy of the typical black metal paradigm had shifted to a highly intellectual and philosophical stance on Satanic theology and one that required careful deconstruction and erudite scholarly effort to unpack.

After releasing the supplemental EP " Kénôse" in 2005, DEATHSPELL OMEGA unleashed their most ambitious album yet in the form of FAS - ITE, MALEDICTI, IN IGNEM AETERNUM in 2007. The Latinate title which translates into English as "Divine Law - Go Accursed, Into Everlasting Fire" coupled with the representative cover art of a blinded man eternally falling into the darkness away from the light alone are more than enough to portend a very darkened and intoxicating musical experience that lurks within the second chapter of their theistic Satanist's trilogy. Continuing the lyrical content of its predecessor, FAS - ITE explores the poetic prowess of post-surrealist George Bataille with selected lyrics lifted verbatim from his works "Theory Of Religion" and "The Solar Anus" with purpose of teasing out the true tenets of Satanism by espousing the theory of that Satan is not the antithesis of the Christian God but rather the purified nihilism that the darkened forces are an inextricable aspect of human nature.

FAS - ITE, MALEDICTI, IN IGNEM AETERNUM eschews a quickened emergence into a bantering din of black metal but rather slowly oozes in with a dark ambient apocalyptic tone that transmogrifies into a dissonant post-metal stream of consciousness that slowly ratchets up the impending dread and despair with the opening "Obombration." This prognosticator of doom and gloom delivers a deathly chilling mix of dreadful dissonance in the form of jangled and mangled guitar riffs with growly raspy vocals that don't quite sing and don't quite speak but exist somewhere in between yet in poetic prose as the triad of guitar, bass and drum patterns slowly buzz around the lyrical delivery gaining more devilish strength after each cadence until it all cedes into a quiet and pacified Christian choir after the jangly post-metal guitar sequence spooks the living daylights out of you.

After a pacifying calm before the storm, "The Shrine Of Mad Laughter" bursts out in full decibalage and suffocates the tranquility as the brutal black metal assault banters on for ten and a half minutes. Not only does FAS - ITE excel at the contrasts explored on "Si Monvmentvm" but takes them to further extremes and accentuates them at every opportune moment. The quiet parts are spookier than before with psychotic pianos tinkling around schizoid guitars and spectral voices while the aggressive outbursts develop into extreme technical workouts with buzzsaw guitars in dissonant angularity chaotically battling with the bass which in turn is at war with outlandishly jazzified drumming fills. The whole thing gives the impression of an angry swarm of locusts covering the entire atmosphere and ready for the attack of all living souls for it's redemption day and the dark forces have won the infernal battles.

This classic DEATHSPELL OMEGA tug-of-war between the creepy dark ambient and excessively brutal blackened free-for-all zigzags throughout the album while the indecipherable lyrics dictate the philosophical diatribe. While the band has remained a virtual mystery with no official website, no photo ops and no indication that they exist in our universe in any way except for the sonic slugfest that bursts out of the speakers in rumbling minor keys with subdued guitar solos and bantering math rock in the form of black metal, they have identified a few of the members under pseudonyms. Hasjari on guitars, Khaos on bass and Mikko Aspa on vocals. The percussionist remains free of identity but is clearly the most talented member of this ensemble as the percussive one runs the gamut of tortoise speed post-rock trance inducing monotony to full-fury technical jazz wizardry outbursts that last for lengthy periods .

Holy crap! FAS - ITE, MALEDICTI, IN IGNEM AETERNUM with its mere 46 minute run tops my list as the scariest album of all time. DEATHSPELL OMEGA scoured the deepest recesses of dark psychology and implemented every possible technique both perceivable and subliminal to create a theological assault on mind, spirit and body and the effect is staggeringly effective. With the second installment of their trilogy the band continued not only to redefine black metal but in its wake ushered in a new level of experimental extreme music that took philosophical lyrical content to new unprecedented heights of left-brained intellectualism. This by far is one of the most evil-as-fuck black metal albums ever to have been recorded and despite many lower musical forms striving for such unholy perfection, DOS win the goat's head trophy without even breaking a sweat.

While nebulous in comprehension and as jittery and non-static as the quantum world of the microverse, the overall effect of perplexity, brutal bombast and post-dissonant meandering guarantees a startling fight or flight response but like microwaves from cell phone towers that leave an intangible energetic enemy with no defenses for counterattack. And this is only the second installment of the trilogy. FAS - ITE is in short, the ultimate synthesis of black metal and progressive rock as it adopts every trick in the playbook from both disparate sides of the extended rock universe and genetically alters their DNA into a sadistic musical demon like no others had done before. This is music so brutally intense and so intellectually advanced that it in effect lays to waste all the mere mortals who have posed their way into the world of evil metal. While "Paracletus" would continue the saga, FAS - ITE, MALEDICTI, IN IGNEM AETERNUM remains the most intense chapter of this deep and darkened psychoanalysis into the greatest mysteries the universe has to offer and executed perfectly.