Theovorator: Babelis Testamentum

Does this make me feel positive or negative? In music – as in life – the real points of intrigue are not in the major or the minor, the happy or the sad, but in the interactions between the two. And tonally, music that imitates sounds considered unpleasant to the modern palate – harsh machinery, grinding rocks, animals in pain – is carelessly defined as the opposite to music that imitates the pleasant – birdsong, gentle breezes, people enjoying each other. Again, it is the mechanics of an interaction between the two which is of interest. And more importantly, how and when they combine to invoke a more profound experience than one or the other.

What does all this have to do with Quebecois black metallers Deletere and their latest EP ‘Theovorator: Babelis Testamentum’ (2019)? Well, because it’s a fine example of black metal as a positive force. But, keeping in mind the above reading, this is positive black metal not in the airhead sense of those who disguise their lack of musical insight behind pink album covers and directionless major chord progressions specifically catered to upset the hysterical black metal hordes. No, this is a more profoundly life affirming statement in music, that takes all the familiar building blocks of black metal, and – yes, sometimes runs them through some unabashedly major keys – blends them together in uplifting music with purpose.

How is this done? At its most basic level, by applying a repeated refrain (usually a short riff) through several iterations and several accompaniments – sometimes a simple ascending chord pattern, sometimes by dropping the tempo out – and each one written with the finale in mind. These relatively simple tricks give the music a sense of mission and drive, one that you didn’t know you miss until you hear it on this EP. A razor-sharp guitar tone helps to bring these elements to the fore, along with drums that are required to bolster up the power of the melodic centre of this music without stealing the show. A tricky balancing act that many drummers fail to achieve.

So whilst this is no doubt an impressive release, and a breath of fresh air for those that take unbridled joy in black metal and despair at the ruination it continues to suffer from liberal arts students, it’s important we don’t get carried away. Deletere’s previous full length of 2018 ‘De Horae Leprae’ was a solid slab of melodic black metal done right, but it merely hinted at the narrative maturity that they would reach on TBT. However, this long form composition requires just that, a longer form to reach fruition than a twenty minute EP can allow. This may hint at the lofty heights of ‘The Voice of Steel’, but they remain hints. Nevertheless, this is an impressive EP and comes recommended for those that still believe in the potential for compositional maturity in black metal over and above the liberal avant-garde free for all that some media darlings tried to make of extreme metal in the last fifteen years or so.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

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 unmistakeable 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.

It’d be impossible to imagine the horrors of the scorned dead still spiraling in the minds of a humanity united in defiance of a murderous ‘God’, who’d resorted to the drowning of their world to cleanse the non-believer. Sharing their stories of survival for generations, and forever changed by the sight of the massive rotting death toll surrounding them, they would unite and usurp the heavens themselves. Without question the reasonable and the egregiously vengeful had to unite in שִׁנְעָר to erect the fabled spiral tower that’d reach the lie of heaven and usurp their fickle creator-destroyer, a common goal equally admirable today. The insecure and frightened ‘God’ grew only more wary as his creations would defy him and since childhood the slaves of Christ are taught that this God would divide humanity into pieces, scatter them and erase their shared tongue to spite them. Today we can be sure that this absurd notion of ‘God’ will forever divide and destine doom and pestilence for all as infantile minds believe a great flood, a great boat, and so many other noxious pseudoscientific lies. Québecois melodic black metal’s blasphemic melodic wunderkind Délétère spread pest and violence upon the myth of Babel, with the goal of the tower to free the would-be hero Tervenificus (“the fallen”, essentially) so he might begin the Theovoration, quite literally the consumption of ‘God’. Not only is their treatment of Romanesque portmanteau graceful and bewitchingly writ but so is this grand rawness, their latest EP ‘Theovorator: Babelis Testamentum’.

From the falling limbs of the leprous to the shackled extremities of Lucifer himself the gloriously stretching heights of Délétère‘s rigorous guitar work still define the band in terms of instantaneous appeal. ‘De Horae Leprae’ (2018) was a vibrant work that is not forgotten or unrelated in the wake of ‘Theovorator: Babelis Testamentum’ and some prior observations still apply. The first that I’d stand behind is that their style is closer to Dumal or Austere than nearby compatriots like Forteresse or Csjethe though there is a shared tonality, an emotive ‘dark metal’ strength shared by all related. The mentions of Woods of Desolation and earlier Sorcier des Glaces all could still apply to this sound as well but distantly. Délétère are to my ears still clearly discernible from groups like Véhémence and Aorlhac for their atmospheric (nigh depressive) affect but all the more related as their depressive rock toned compositions become more expressive. As a relatively short (21+ minute) set of three songs it may take about three spins of this EP to immerse and begin to feel the piece beyond its baseline sorrow, which is perhaps leagues more personal than its mythological themes suggest.

“Babel Insanifusor” is nakedly emotive compared to the rest of the EP whereas the first single “Milites Pestilentiae III – Babylonia Magnissima” seems to rejoice afterwards, celebrating some great pain with defiance. “Theovoratoris Aduentus” is menacing by comparison but no less an anthem than the piece that ends the full listen. Délétère would be easy to write off as a solid entry into what has become a signature sound for Québec’s more thoughtful black metal circles but I do believe these compositions are decidedly human and written less as iteration and more with their expressive value highly considered. There are as many ‘easy’ hooks in the guitar work as there are greater arcs that’ll take time to materialize and in this sense ‘Theovorator: Babelis Testamentum’ is a meaningful addition to Délétère‘s discography and not just a space-filler between full-lengths. It remains to be seen if this sort of songwriting is the plateau for the band’s work yet it is unarguably a glorious view here atop the tower they build in defiance of an unjust ‘God’. Moderately high recommendation, as they remain highly memorable and expressive. For preview we’re given “Milites Pestilentiae III – Babylonia Magnissima” as the starting point but, the whole arc of the piece is vital prior to any judgment.

Attribution: https://grizzlybutts.com/2019/05/15/deletere-theovorator-babelis-testamentum-2019-review/