Elderblood return with their second blaspheme. An odious and crafty ensemble, its sharp movements are capable of striking a chord with undiluted darkness. These Ukrainians are spelling a mighty darkness over their second record and its fiery disposition makes it all the more exciting to hear. Adding the grandiose strings to stabilize the structure that swirls around like an abyssal pit blends more rhythm than melody to the tremolo riffing that constitutes most of the album.
In its heart Messiah is a melodic black metal album. The orchestration behind the guitars is at cinematic quality, conducting suspense and anticipation in equal measure, and flattering the gritty sound coming into the forefront. Hard, heavy but also dexterous the dynamics of the album cascade to tell a dark tale where evil harmonies cast shadows on the listener.
The grotesque spirit of Messiah builds a marvelous sonal assault on the comfort zone that indoctrination to Christian idealism supplies, yet its own mercy is bold and benevolent and also features attentive solos, which instead of trying to sound like a wanking simulator actually augment the tracks they’re part of in lieu of a clean recital. Still, holistically it’s very cohesive and articulate so you can’t fault that, even with symphony being a word that’s batted in their direction.
9/10
