Divine Codex
The Dark Descent ()
Wydane przez Mighty Hordes Productions/BlackSeed ProductionsRok wydania Kraj ItalyNapisał Wouter7
Italy has become a stable haven for the most extreme of death metal. Italian black metal does not fall much behind, but lacks in the same sense of visibility and marketability, since no successor to Opera IX has presented itself. Like their country mates Faust, Divine Codex is a much more technical and demanding strain of its chosen genre. While Divine Codex doesn’t qualify as a super-group in the traditional sense of the word, its membership does feature the cream of the crop in the death – and black metal underground. “The Dark Descent” features session vocals by Hakan Sjödin (Setherial – vocals, guitars, drums) and is enforced by former Horncrowned and Impiety drummer Atum. On top of that the record features guest leads/solos by Belphegor touring guitarist Bernd Brodträger (on ‘Outer Source Of Reality’ and ‘Decreptitude Enigma’) and Ophiolatry guitarist Fabio Zperandio (on ‘The Last Sacrifice’ and ‘Decreptitude Enigma’). Other than its interesting membership Divine Codex is thoroughly Swedish in its blast-centered black metal, which combines the strengths (or weakness, depending on your preference) of Dark Funeral, (mid era) Marduk and Setherial. Where a lot of black metal bands tend to blast ad infinitum Divine Codex will occasionally slow down and implement dark sounding dirge-like sections. The riffing is hypnotizing and dissonant while remaining melodic and technical through out. Atum is impressive behind the drumkit in sheer endurance to produce this sustained blasting but his true strength lie in the aforementioned slow sections, as they are rife with interesting kickdrum patterns, fill compositions and cymbal work. “The Dark Descent” is worth a listen for those who like their black metal technically proficient and with a smooth production that cherishes clarity and range over basement bargain trueness.
www.mightyhordes.com
