Album Type:
Full-length
Date Released:
October 31, 2014
Label:
W.T.C.
Productions
Liber Lucifer
I: Khem Sedjet – track listing
1. Holy Lvcifer
2. Revival through
Arcane Skins
3. Elixer of Azazel
4. Black Light of
Sitra Ahra
5. Or She-ein bo
Mahshavah
6. Nox Profunda
7. Drayishn-i
Ahriman o Divan
8. Saatet-ta
Renaissance
9. Liber Lvcifer
10. Deus Obsconditus
11. Δαήμων Ὁ
Φώσφορος (Daemon Phosphorus)
Bio
The entity known as
Thy Darkened Shade was formed nameless in 1999 by Semjaza. The music
composed was Black Metal with Old School and Epic influences. In
order for Thy Darkened Shade to achieve the best representation of
what this band's music signifies, nothing was unleashed.
Over the years and
after various experimentations, the sound of Thy Darkened Shade
changed significantly resulting in ETERNVS MOS, NEX RITVS. Expect a
mix of raw yet technical Black Metal with old school, avant-garde and
80s' Thrash influences.
Members
The A – Vocals
Semjaza – Guitars
& Bass
H.G. – Drums
Magus Wampyr Daoloth
of Necromantia – Guest Vocals on Daemon Phosphorus
Review:
For
those raised in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s there were
two types of Satanism: the non-existent bogeymen abducting,
molesting, and sacrificing children in the minds of religious zealots
and regression hypnosis charlatans nationwide; or the very real,
fairly boring pseudo-objectivist secular humanists/atheists of Anton
Lavey’s Church of Satan. By the late 90s, the real possibility of
baby-murdering Satanism was revealed as a kind of national hysteria
and Lavey garnered a fair degree of hipster cool by hanging out with
Marilyn Manson.
For
all but the most backwards of us, Laveyan Satanists are a joke –
meme ready neck-beards wearing fedoras and tweeting Penn Jillette
quotes into the ether. Moreover, when it comes to Lucifer himself,
they tend to be party poopers, ready to spout endless trivia about
the power of the individual, the adversary, the outsider against
repressive institutions like churches and governments. Mention
theistic Satanists, and they’re likely to blow a gasket. According
to Church of Satan “High Priest” Peter Gilmore, “My real
feeling is that anybody who believes in supernatural entities on some
level is insane. Whether they believe in The Devil or God, they are
abdicating reason.” Snooze.
I
can’t pretend that I know much more about theistic or atheistic
Satanism, but simply judging by musical talent and output, I’ll
take Behemoth, Watain, and seriously talented Greek disciples Thy
Darkened Shade over a Sam Harris- or Richard Dawkins-inspired album
any day. Thanks be to Azazel that Thy Darkened Shade have helped in
some way to rescue Lucifer from the tired bin of 90s rock metaphor
and have structured the first (of several?) prog meets blackened
death metal masterpieces centered on the Morningstar and his demonic
brethren, or as they describe it Acausal Necrosophic Black Metal.
Instrumentalist
Semjaza and vocalist The A (joined on this release by drummer H.G.)
craft Miltonian hellscapes on their sophomore album, complete with
unholy chanting, blast beats galore, what feels like an orchestra of
both electric and folk instruments, stretching across 77 minutes of
relentless metal. Remarkably, it never feels tired, even with four
(!) 10 minute mini-epics filling out over half of the album’s
runtime. Rather, it seems like Thy Darkened Shade, like so many
remarkable metal bands, continue to balance a truly fringe ethos with
diverse musical traditions. There is a section of title track Liber
Lvcifer (about the last 2 minutes) that really defies mere critical
language. After the structured chaos of the preceding 8 minutes, the
bursts of cacophony and breakneck shredding, the ethereal chanting,
guitar harmonies, and martial drumming transcends the simply horrific
to become sublime.
When
John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, he made a charismatic Lucifer whose
tragedy would allow mankind some access to the infinite mystery of
being, but was ultimately bound to the conventions of Christianity.
With Liber Lvcifer I, Thy Darkened Shade evokes the same kind of
transcendence, unbound by the strictures of religion or dogmatic
rationality. At its core, it stands out as a paradox: a divinely
unholy work of irreligious devotion.
Words
by Mark Ambrose
Thanks
to Nathan for the promo. Liber Lucifer I: Khem Sedjet will be
available to buy from W.T.C. Productions from October 31st.
For
more information
