By: Mark Ambrose
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 22/03/2019
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
“Gods
Without Name” CD//DD//LP
track listing
1). Parallax I
2). Holy Mother of Terror
3). Of Harvest, Scythe and Sickle Moon
4). Gods Without Name
5). Thresher
6). The Watcher on the Threshold
7). Prayer of Abjection
8). Dread Spirit of the Place
9). Parallax II
The Review:
There must be other US black metal artists out
there delivering atmospheric, occult, disturbing hymns to elder gods. But between Akhlys, Nightbringer, and now AORATOS, one-man
powerhouse Naas Alcameth (aka Kyle Spanswick) has seemingly cornered the market
on truly grim, pitch black metal. Naas is
one of the most prolific one-man powerhouses in black metal, which (SoundCloud
rappers notwithstanding) may be the most dominant “solo” genre of the
moment. You’d be forgiven for assuming
so much output from one songwriter would be indistinguishable or, at worst,
repetitive, but his latest work as AORATOS should shut up
any naysayers: Naas Alcameth has a seemingly boundless well of interesting and
diverse offerings to the darkness.
As a thematic departure from his prior work, AORATOS seems less focused on the introspective dreamscapes
of Akhlys or the arcane magickal workings of Nightbringer. Instead, AORATOS is an earthier
turn to primordial worship. The
“group’s” promotional images feature two hooded, robed figures lurking near a
dilapidated farmhouse, one holding an old-fashioned pitchfork. But this isn’t some hokey devilry – this
feels like some cult roots, some ancient hearth magic.
Naas’s lyrics on “Of Harvest, Scythe, and Sickle Moon” paint a picture of medieval
peasant life supplemented by rootsy paganism: “I’ve ripped my hair and torn my skin / to get my master’s harvest in /
I’ve reeved all flesh for the mighty dead / and blooded the field neath the
moon of red.” There’s an unrelenting drive towards some high-minded ancient
ancestry in a lot of black metal (often towards elitism or, in some sinister
circumstances, racial purity). This feels like a raw and honest departure – few
of us were descended from pseudo-elven kings and warriors, but our low forbears
may have enjoyed a dark communion without even being able to read. In “Gods Without Name”, Naas invokes
spirits that carried weight for generations without the burden of holy
scriptures or grimoires: “God of the
attic, cellar and wheel. God of the shed, abbatoir and mill. God of the edge,
grotto and grove. Dark gods of the plot to whom I’m betrothed.”
Naas himself handles all the instrumental
duties (guitars and synth), as well as lead vocals, while Nox Corvus (main man
of ANOTHER solo black metal project, Serpent of the Black Forest)
offers some guitar work and backing vocals.
Menthor, drummer of Nightbringer, Necrosadist, and others, is the standard type of black
metal powerhouse you need on an album so expansive sounding.
Naas has layers upon layers of instrumentation
and vocals, creating a chorus of tortured but distinguishable shrieks and
howls. The guitars vary between
shimmering but almost out-of-tune picking (which is way more unsettling than my
description would make it seem), massive chords, and tremolo picking that will
make the hairs on your neck stand up. Menthor’s
precise double kick work and blast beats is invigorating, while the sparse,
doomy crashes of “Dead Spirit of the
Place” punctuates the nightmarish, nearly ambient closer before launching
into full on black metal assault: one assumes Frost would be proud, and don’t get me wrong, this is still
remarkably evil sounding.
Naas isn’t writing an anthropological
dissertation – he’s subverting the expectations of what themes carry black
metal. It’s smart but the plain
descriptions of superstitions and homespun occult practice are sincere and
totally unpretentious. There’s something
undeniably chilling when Naas howls “I am
the thresher ‘neath the moon’s baleful eye! I am the thresher, the wolf in the
rye!” If this is the worship music
of the hearth magician, consider me converted.
“Gods Without Name” is available HERE
Band info: bandcamp
