ALBUM REVIEW: Belus - "Apophenia"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/10/ 2017

Label: Vendetta Records

“Apophenia” is a breathtaking experience, a challenging listen, and an auspicious first entry from one of the few bands with the audacity to experiment and the chops to pull it off.

 “Apophenia” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing

1. Chasm

2. Monolith

3. Avarice

4. Illusions

5. Psychosis

6. Omens

7. Equilibrium

The Review

Belus has one of the most memorable rhythm sections in blackened metal.  From the opener, “Chasm”, drummer Jacques fluidly alternates between blast beats and groove-indebted, borderline funk fills.  The bass work is equally indebted to funky post-punk, like a black metal Mike Watt, while the guitar tone glides between classic tremolo picking and lush, post-hardcore departures.  If the bass on “Monolith” were a bit higher in the mix, the disco beat would immediately invoke Public Image, Ltd.  For all I’ve said about the disparate influences and comparable non-metal acts, Belus is one hell of an interesting metal band on its own terms.  Guitarist Matt Mewton’s vocal delivery, particularly on album highlight “Avarice”, has an almost dual-toned rasped scream.  A lot of digital ink has been spilled regarding Dagon’s otherworldly, “reptilian” vocal style, but I’ve found Mewton’s tone equally alien and more tuneful.  There are moments that almost sound like throat singing.  This weirdness, paired with the mounting doom (and haunting synth) of final tracks “Omens” and “Equilibrium, are particularly rewarding upon multiple listens.  I found myself hearing unlikely harmonies in Mewton’s guitars and vocals, while even the blast beats and pared down bass riffing played with subtle rhythmic variations.

And yet Belus has me rethinking any “big picture” judgment or some unifying gestalt.  When so many bands practically construct a libretto for interpreting their latest prog missive, the very title is a challenge – or a warning.  “Apophenia”, for those (like me) who tend to fire up a Google search any time you encounter a new mystery word, is, according to Belus, the “human tendency to seek patterns in random information and assign unnecessary meaningfulness or importance to them”.  This bleak concept has been equally applied to the studies of psychology and esoteric magic.  How appropriate, then, for a band that treads equally in the morose world of black metal and the occult-obsessed dimensions of psychedelia, with some unexpected, schizophrenic sojourns into funk, punk, post-punk and doom, to confound the effort to bridge these concepts.  Each temporal shift, each genre-fluid amalgamation, each tortured vocal practically begs for interpretation for some larger, unifying theme, while constantly threatening the listener with sheer nihilism.  It’s a breathtaking experience, a challenging listen, and an auspicious first entry from one of the few bands with the audacity to experiment and the chops to pull it off.

“Apophenia” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: One Master - “Lycanthropic Burrowing”

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Full length: Full length

Date Released: 14/07/2017

Label: Eternal Death

“Lycanthropic Burrowing” is a shredding reminder One Master is back and they have not missed a step since their last release.

“Lycanthropic Burrowing” CS//DD//LP track listing:

1. The Claws of Dionysus

2. Will of the Shadow

3. The Black Bat

4. Death Resurrection

5. Erosion

6. Lycanthropic Burrowing

The Review:

Much is offered about black metal, its history, contemporary acts and imagery. And given how notorious that story is, it is thus incredibly difficult to be distinctive among the hundreds of performers that have cemented its legacy.

Now on their ninth release, One Master returns with its follow up to 2015's "Reclusive Blasphemy." Just by virtue of longevity, One Master deserves a great deal of praise. With "Lycanthropic Burrowing," the American black metal act notches another win in creating its best release yet.

To the untrained ear, black metal can be all noise and theatrics. Perhaps that is not a wholly unfair appraisal, considering the number of black metal musicians who fulfill both expectations exceedingly well. As you go back through One Master's catalog, you get to know how well the outfit sees the importance of the aforementioned matters. Why is "Lycanthropic Burrowing" so notable then? Maybe it is a maturity of its sound or faithfulness to its lyrical stories. However, One Master presents a new release that is well produced and incredibly polished. The mix is exceptional, the vocals are exceedingly good and the rest of the instrumentation is pitch perfect if you could ever ascribe such a phrase to black metal.

From "The Claws of Dionysus," which begins the release, and then into "Will of the Shadow," One Master make it clear that the trio's chemistry sets the tone. Guitar, bass and drums are balanced well against the lyrics for a sound that recalls classic black metal, with a hint of hardcore chord progressions among other influences. The post-production in these opening cuts is immaculate. The lyrics are not washed out by the sort of sonic bludgeoning you could get from a less experienced band. The guitar and bass are raging, but do not overwhelm the drums. One Master gives fans a fearless album, but one that is smart enough to know the base is sophisticated enough to know if it sounds like crap. Thankfully “Lycanthropic Burrowing” leaps out to you like everything but.

Sound does matter, even in extreme music, and One Master's aesthetic is outstanding for its quality and ethos. With musical themes this recording is centered around the mind's many antisocial and confusing swings, the lyrics convey the darkest tales to match. Take the jackhammer drums of "The Black Bat," a tune that pulses with chaos like you're running from your fate. It is typical of the complete package you receive. It is matched with "Death Resurrection," which comes at you in a similarly anarchic fashion. The vocals are almost animalistic in their storytelling of vampires, lycans and damnation, these specters of our minds. And they are not beasts you will soon forget, as shared here.

The album's title track wraps up One Master's journey and caps a mammoth recording with more of the same: unreal vocals, precise musicianship and an abundant sound. What you may miss in experimentation you get in sheer quality. “Lycanthropic Burrowing” is a shredding reminder One Master is back and they have not missed a step since their last release.

 “Lycanthropic Burrowing” is available here

Band info: facebook

FFO: Celebratum, || Bog of the Infidel || Nightbringer || Satanic Warmaster