The Darkend ritual resumes.
Quiet in recent years, the Italian band comprising Valentz (drums/vocals, Demiurgon), Antarktica (keyboards), Animæ (vocals), Ashes (guitar, Demiurgon), Vinterskog (bass, Bloodshot Dawn, ex-Aran Angmar) and Acamar (guitar) sign to Time to Kill Records and unveil Viaticum, their fifth album.
In My Multitude opens with relatively ominous tones, followed by icy piercing Black Metal joined by a possessed vocalist, sometimes accompanied by a few choirs or majestic orchestrations. Some passages are more oppressive, such as when the intriguing leads take over or when the atmosphere becomes more solemn before the noisy final rushes us into An Incautious Exhumation of What Lies Beneath Forgotten Ground, where the dark saturation resurfaces. Background vocals complement the visceral howls perfectly, making the mix quite theatrical in comparison with the raw riffs, but the atmosphere calms down when De Masticatione Mortuorum In Tumulis begins, slowing down and integrating heady sounds, thanks in particular to the guitars. The imposing rhythm is never far away, burying us in its violence while the massive vocals terrify us, then the keyboards lead us into the fury of An Ancient Plague Has Silently Worn Our Garments as Its Throne. Although the approach is different, it perfectly captures this almost protocol-like progression where we encounter alternately soaring leads, accelerations and sampled vocals, but melancholy is finally broken by the final eruption before letting In Your Multitude begin with intriguing sounds. Halfway between lament and oriental influences, the track will also sweep us away with explosive riffs or anchor itself in more haunting elements throughout its fifteen minutes, mixing codes to bewitch us for fifteen minutes.
Darkend offers more than majestic Black Metal. Viaticum is a true ceremony punctuated by howls, melancholy and darkness, all taking their turn to create a dark curtain of fascination.
90/100