Malconfort. A very intriguing name for a musical project.
Taken from a Deathspell Omega song, the project was launched in the UK by Kopczak (vocals/keyboards/drums), Nuun (vocals) and Fas (guitar/bass/keyboards). Together, they give life to Humanism, their debut album, released by Transcending Obscurity Records.
The album features six tracks for just under half an hour, and is billed as a blend of Black Metal with other elements, such as Jazz, an atmospheric approach and other strange elements. And I can assure you that strange is the right word to describe their music, as it is so dissonant, unpredictable, tortured and complex, while keeping an artificially natural dimension. There’s a lot I like about this album, like the furious, visceral parts of Compulsion (Ecstasy), but there’s also a lot that intrigues me, like the jerky segues of Stain (Fantasy), the noisy atmospheres of Cruelty (Elation)… but the band seems to take great pleasure in tying them together. And it’s at this point that their sound becomes truly interesting, as on Rage (Indulgence) which imposes a constant pressure, on the false quietude of Carnivore (God), or what I consider to be the high point, the real torture that is Inertia (Condense) with its dark, haunting naturalness.
I’m probably not the audience Malconfort is looking for. Yet, with its uneasy cover, its convoluted, deranged sounds and its open-mindedness, I find Humanism to be a good album. Even a very good album, incredibly rich.
70/100