Deathspell Omega- Drought EP Review

EP: Drought

Artist: Deathspell Omega

Genre: Black Metal

8.1/10

       In one of the saddest days for metal in recent years, the infamous Pitchfork awarded the disappointing Yellow and Green an 8.5 Best New Music accolade, while snubbing Deathspell Omega’s strong new EP Drought, giving it a measly 6.7… on the same day.

    Deathspell Omega have planted themselves as powerhouses of black metal.  Innovators in the genre, their albums have experimented with different recording techniques and lyrical themes.  On Drought the lyrics take a biblical direction similar to Si momvmentvm reqvires, circvmpsice.  The stage is set on the desert of the Holy Land, and the images constructed throughout this album illustrates the darkest and most mythological aspects of the Old Testament.  On “Firey Serpents” a narrator describes his situation “Standing, shivering in cold dim light/Waiting for the sentence of the Holy Dead/Like Adam and Eve at the end of time”.  On “Scorpions and Drought” the narrator ventures into a different place, and a different state of mind: “There I stand, in a wood of trees pale as if bones/Eroded by nefarious winds, haunted by their barking echoes/Were doubts to arise that God retreats slowly from this world.”  The somewhat disappointly short “Sand“ returns to the desert and with one single stanza erases what little hope remained after such images presented in the first two songs.  “A desert with no life but scorpions/Coming as a swarm, as a flood/With a abundance of deadly sings/One from every remembrance/One for every comforting echo of the past/For blithe days of hope turned sour.”  The narrator can’t even think of happier times without receiving physical pain.

    But as with other black metal releases, much more emphasis remains on the instrumentation and vocal delivery.  The EP opens with the more ambient “Salowe Vision” that slowly builds into “Fiery Serpents”.  The sound remains similar for the most part, with Deathspell Omega employing loud and high-energy black metal heavy on blast beats and slick guitar lines coupled agains the guttural bellows of the lead vocalist.  The last track ‘The Crackled Book of Life” incorporates a much slower, almost groovy, beat and climbing guitar line reminiscent of “Orion” by Metallica.

    The material on this EP is high quality and will be sure to please fans yearning for more after Paracletus.  It’s nothing revolutionary but it’s a strong EP with enjoyable and well-written material.

Fave Tracks: Fiery Serpents, The Crackled Book of Life, Salowe Vision