Review by Fernando on August 14, 2020.

You know the drill, you know the story here, let’s get on to it.

As I wrote on my review of the first single for this EP, Bart Krysiuk's music as "Batushka" is just a poor man's imitation of the original version of the band's first album "Litourgiya", probably in an attempt to trick people unaware of the situation behind this project (furthered proved by Bart using the older "Batushka" logo), the music in here sounds indeed like the b-side tracks that didn't make the cut on "Litourgiya", although one slightly positive thing I can say is that production quality doesn't sound nearly as insipid and over-polished as Bart's last album; "Hospodi", whatever money that hasn't gone to the legal battle over the Batushka name was at least put to make the album sound decent enough. The same "I guess that's fine, but whatever" faint of praise goes for the artwork and the length of the EP, at 30 minutes it’s at least a mercifully quick sit through.

However, a decent production cannot salvage this EP, the larger issue isn't just how the music and even atmosphere sounds like a shoddy recreation of "Litourgiya", but rather how this whole EP feels like the throes of a desperate man, trying his hardest to keep something that was never his, there really isn't much I can say about the music beyond stating "it sounds exactly like 'Litourgiya' but boring", and the short run length also makes it obscenely unmemorable, the music goes into one ear, and out the other and that's about it, it might as well be royalty free AI generated polish black metal but with church choirs. Even if you want to ignore everything about the Batushka situation, the truth of the matter is that Bart's music on his own devices and direction just sucks, and not even in an interesting way, his music is just derivative, boring, forgettable and not worth getting angry about or to laugh at, as proven by how inconsequential his original band Hermh was, how inessential his label Witching Hour Productions is, and how forgettable his "Batushka" records since 2019 have been.

In my aforementioned review of the first single, I mentioned how this whole sham by Bart is not worth getting angry anymore since most people get the picture already and the fact that this EP was rushed just over a year as Bart's last album means that eventually the Polish courts will rule in favor of Derph Drabikowski the actual founder and mastermind of Batushka and at this point Bart is just trying to squeeze a few more bucks before his literal Day of Judgement. Basically, this is the last word on my end about Bart Krysiuk and whatever other grift he wants to pull, hopefully next time I talk about Batushka will be for Derph's third album.

Rating: 1.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 22, 2019.

You know the story of the two sides of the coin, don't you? Black metal from Québec is one of these coins. Some say that all bands have the same sound and the same approach, but others are of the opinion that these bands have created a new style under the banner of "métal noir québécois". Well, maybe it's no new style, but an unmistakable identity. Délétère play exactly the style that everybody has in mind when it comes to the francophone Canadian metropolis. Sound cascades like waterfalls take possession of the listener and draw her or him into a nightmarish scenario. Almost overlong song patterns and guitar lines which are sometimes repetitive but always effective set the right frame for a trip to the end of time and back.

Délétère are not lazy and therefore they deliver three new songs, even though their last album is just eleven months old. That's a remarkably short period, but who wants to stop creative people as long as they write fanatic black metal tunes? Me not. Speaking of creativity, the promo sheet wants to make us believe that "Délétère distills its very own essence of powerful, raw, and melodic black metal", but to mention a very own essence is ridiculous. As mentioned above, the opposite is true. The formation does not hurt the guidelines of the sub-genre and I enjoy it the way it is. The three tracks cover all facets of MNQ movement and the profound, alternating anthemic or fast guitar lines prevent any form of boredom. Of course, the bar has been set very high by De Horae Leprae, but the EP is willing and - nearly - able to challenge this mighty album. Sacral keyboards add an atmospheric touch and lend the opener an eldritch touch. However, the band mostly prefers fast sequences, in short, the here presented songs exactly follow the route that the band's previous material has already taken. Fans of the former outputs can buy this work blindly.

Maybe the last ounce of currishness is missing and the religious yet ill-fated character of De Horae Leprae does not reappear in full bloom. Nevertheless, all songs convince and the threatening guitars at the beginning and the end of "Milites Pestilentiae III – Babylonia Magnissima" create some of the best moments of the EP. However, Theovorator: Babelis Testamentum is immune against feeble parts and its playtime of roughly 20 minutes is not too long, to say the least. The appropriate, dense sound completes the picture. Forteresse beware, because Délétère have the potential to pen a full-length which could oust "Thémes pour la rébellion" from the throne. Either way, Québec can be proud of triggering the most exciting wave in terms of present extreme metal. And that's exactly the reason why I forget the other side of the coin right now.

Rating: 8.3 out of 10