Malevolentia
Ex Oblivion ()
Wydane przez Epicural Production/Season Of MistRok wydania Kraj FranceNapisał Wouter7
Since the split of Anorexia Nervosa in 2007 France hasn’t had much of a presence in the symphonic black metal scene. While France’s traditional and orthodox black metal scene is potent as ever, the symfo subgenre has died a slow death. Malevolentia, who formed in 2003, and feature Otargos drummer Julien “Thyr” Helwin now presents its second full lenght offering. “Ex Oblivione" is a prose poem by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in late 1920 or early 1921 and its central concept is that nothingness is preferable to life. After a bombastic intro its immediately clear that Malevolentia lives up to its moniker as the riffs are brutal, the tempo is high and there’s a prevalent atmosphere of darkness. The synthesizers, choirs and piano are prominent amongst the band’s arsenal, but at no point do they water down the extreme metal aspect. In fact, Malevolentia prove that keyboards don’t need to be a hinderance. The swirling riffs are reminiscent of (pre-“Kings Of Chaos”) Hecate Enthroned and the Scandinavian forefathers of this genre (Emperor, Limbonic Art), while the drumming is pummeling to say the least. This is a unit dripping with intent and intensity as compared to a lot of other bands of similar ilk Malevolentia put the pedal to the metal and deliver a ghostly and storming genre record. The album is entirely sung in French, but it is commendable that Malevolentia choose to write in a language they know well, instead of writing in amateurish English in order to appeal to a wider audience. The production is on par with the established names of this genre and the lay-out, which uses a similar color scheme as Dimmu Borgir’s “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant”, is superb. “Ex Oblivion” isn’t a game changer, but a much needed reminder that symphonic black metal can still be a genre worth taking serious when executed expertly.
www.season-of-mist.com
