On August 23rd black metal enigma PA VESH EN will release the highly anticipated second album, Pyrefication, via Iron Bonehead Productions, but today we are honored to host the premiere of the full album stream giving you a veritable sound of the soul collapsing inward and dying a most exquisite death.

And the candles are once again lit in arrival of Pa Vesh En's latest working of wickedness. This figure has been active since its inception having released records that have garnered high critical acclaim. It is with this second full length record the mystique behind the massive sounds of solitude and sacrilege delivers his best necromantic offering to date. Pa Vesh En cares not for the season, he performs whenever the urge bites, whenever the call from the void shakes the walls of the ossuary. Hidden from the glare of luminescence, new sessions have been put in motion to invite the listeners to waltzes with the distinguishable evil of Pa Vesh En's latest spell of intolerance, Pyrefication. It's only been a few months since we were given a peek into the warped mind of this madman, Church of Bones hit with a resounding echo in October of 2018 which was then followed up by Cryptic Rites of Necromancy that saw his songwriting skills begin to take effect as the compositions that time took the strengths of his split with Temple Moon, Church of Bones and amalgamate them, thus crafting a dreary atmosphere fused with some poignancy. Pyrefication shares the same sentiments with greater emphasis on song structure and total album flow. This entry marks a decisive step towards the maturity of the entity. Not to be mistaken, the sound and feel deeply associated with Pa Vesh En's work is still present lushfully but has undergone some modifications to magnify the appeal of the music, after-all, it still is such.

On this funerary rite, Pa Vesh En has prepared 8 combustibles serving as the apparatus to establish the pyre. 'In Ghostly Haze' conjures the air of malice we are more than familiar with by now when it comes to his sonic ability. From there, 'Wastelands of Plague' resumes the work done on Cryptic Rites of Necromancy, only this time Pa Vesh En's confidence has reached a new high. Now he seems to understand what makes his music so familiar to the genre yet diverse from so many bands. The musical textures he manages to mix is what I am referring to; as on prior releases he has exhibited a knack for melody driven compositions conspiring with the groovy, thick, clouded baselines, catchy guitar leads, raw candid drumming and his trademark overall corrupt production. Chants that sound indigenous have been added to the Pa Vesh En formula of mystique, mayhem and melancholy, further displaying transformative growth in his compositional skills. This tempest-like level of song writing continues; 'Call of the Dead' applies it's undefeated anger and hatred to the ritual, sweeping away the poignant mark of the opening invocations to execute an muscle-flexing though still haunting and abrasive installment. Appearing to be influenced by Mayhem's 'Freezing Moon' and 'Life Eternal', Pa Vesh En's 'Call of the Dead' takes the listener/s back to a time when black metal had began to take its first steps outside of it's ancient and glorious 1st wave ovum. The character on Pyrefication continues to glow with tracks such as 'Grotesque Abomination' which assembles a throne of thrashing and furious blasting snare drum structures, followed by 'Fog of Death' and 'Pyre of the Forgotten'; both of which are inscribed with dreaded cavernous growls into their husks.

Pa Vesh En's work is rather reclusive as a whole, in a sense, his discipline is ascetic or monk-like; in particular the familiarity of his sound remains committed to his projected quest even when introducing new elements in small samples. Better organization of the tracks have proven to be more effective in controlling the deluge of instruments and vocals. Austere the principles of this Belarusian figure that wanders the ancient catacombs of black metal; with Pyrefication and all prior releases campaigning somewhere between raw black metal and white noise, what you get with Pa Vesh En is more than your average raw black metal band would put forth. The strong bass driven melodies return in ensuring the record's longevity, fused with the clouded vocals of the mysterious project curator, this entry does precisely what was expected musically which is adequately sustained by a production that at this point has become synonymous with Pa Vesh En. In just over a year or so he has managed to ensconce a kingdom of dominance overlooking this sub-genre of black metal whilst rendering few capable and more-so worthy of standing amidst the shadows manoeuvred with. Pyrefication is definitely the best effort to date from this project, it's everything you loved about Cryptic Rites of Necromancy and Church of Bones cohesively dilated with a few added features to succor, nurture and intensify it's tonality.

Dormant soul corruption:

• Wastelands of Plague
• Call of the Dead
• Grotesque Abomination 
• Fog of Death

MORE INFO AND PRE-ORDERS:
http://www.ironbonehead.de
http://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions

My mother, Nancy Booth Nilsson (may she rest in peace) was one of the finest art historians the world has ever seen. And as such, she had a particular love/fascination/HUGE knowledge base when it came to the art and culture of Greece, Italy and the rest of the Mediterranean region. And it ALWAYS fascinated her that an area of such warmth and romanticism could also be a breeding ground for some of the finest black metal the world has ever seen.

It really is remarkable. One listen to a song by any of the original Greek masters, and there is little to no doubt as to its origin. The unique sound and fiercely original vision is matched only by the intense camaraderie between the musicians. Especially in the early days, it seemed like everyone was playing on everyone else's albums (which I suppose fits in more with the classic Greek stereotype my mom was talking about).

So we are looking at three debut albums by three founding fathers of Hellenistic black metal (all of which are viewed by many fans as the bands' best records, respectively). We are starting with the undisputed kings. The ones who remain fearless in their musical explorations, AND also happen to be headlining this year's Devastation on the Nation tour (STOKED)...

ROTTING CHRIST showed a steady progression in sound and vision from their 1989 demo, Satanas Tedeum, to their 1991 EP, Passage to Arcturo... but I don't think the metal world knew what hit them in 1993 when their first full-length, Thy Mighty Contract, rose from the depths. I would say 99% of the band's fans cite this, or one of the two albums that followed, as their favorite. For the majority, it is this one. Colleagues like Darkthrone's Fenriz, Immortal's Abbath and Vader's Piotr Wiwczarek have discussed how important this album was to them. It really was the perfect mix. The rawness from the demo days was still there, but the compositions were getting more intricate, and more unique. They had somehow found a way to bring melodies and progressive riffs to the foreground, but still create a mysterious, strange and scary atmosphere. Just slightly "left of center," musically and lyrically... in the most brilliant way possible. Starting with Thy Mighty Contract, ROTTING CHRIST became what remains to this day to be one of the most recognizable and inimitable bands in extreme metal.

VARATHRON's debut full-length, on the other hand, is absolutely pristine. You would never guess it was the band's first "official" foray into the world of recorded music. In addition to an almost regal-sounding production, His Majesty at the Swamp (1993) shows VARATHRON to be exercising an amazing amount of poise and restraint. Although it has moments when the drums start a-blasting and the evil rears its head out of the blackened sea... the album is largely mid-(and occasionally slowly) paced. But VARATHRON knows what they are doing, and how to best unleash their magicks. The riffs are slowed down and deliberate enough that you can get lost in them. The songs are epic, carefully structured, with perfectly-placed melodies, so that each piece feels like a soundtrack to an entire universe.

Mock if you will. I know I'm right. And fans of the band know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

NOTE: In addition to a bonus track recorded in 1992, the Floga Records cassette reissue also includes a live version of Nightly Kingdoms recorded 22 years later (which is still 5 years ago...gross) in Greece. It's a powerful and satisfying example of VARATHRON's staying power. It's darker, definitely harder-hitting, and eternal...

We conclude today's visit to the Aegean landscape with the debut album from THOU ART LORD, titled Eosforos (1994). I feel like I was one of the many fans in the 1990s who first discovered them because of Rotting Christ's Sakis Tolis and his involvement with the band. (The first TAL album I bought was their second, Apollyon, which came a couple years later.) But yeah, this is smack in the middle of the first golden age of Hellenic extremity. It was unleashed in between RC's Thy Mighty Contract and Non Serviam, and just on the heels of Necromantia's Scarlet Evil Witching Black and Varathron's His Majesty at the Swamp.

How to distinguish Eosforos from the work of THOU ART LORD's contemporaries of the time? Well... it has that raw, echoing Rotting Christ bleakness, but without their experimenting with trickly, twin-guitar harmonies. They instead opt for a straight-ahead, rhythmic onslaught. And Varathron? Well, they do sound quite similar at this point in time. But again, their no-nonsense approach is not possessed of the musical layering, occasional subtlety, and contemplative moments that Varathron was toying with.

NOTE: Sakis Tolis recently said in an interview that THOU ART LORD is not planning on recording any more music. This makes me sad. I'm weeping black demon goat tears straight onto an obsidian wasteland. Obsidian, I tell you.

Thanks for your attention. See you soon.

Jeff

Previous BMR can be found here.