Kénôse

Having reviewed quite a few bands lately whose inspiration among others stems from Deathspell Omega, I felt that I should go back to the source as it were, to remind myself of why DSO are so highly regarded so widely. I even delved as far back as this 2005 release, one of three interludes between the first and second albums of the band's major trilogy which was an interrogation into the nature of evil and humankind's role in it. "Kenose" itself is a trilogy in microcosm that questions the rationality in worshipping a God who would allow his own supposed divine son to assume human form to suffer an excruciating and ignominious death, and accuses that God of enjoying, even desiring, suffering and pain upon humanity and his so-called son.

That DSO pack in dense and perhaps unnecessarily complicated lyrics into equally dense and super-heavy music going at full tilt with few moments of relief (though those do exist here and there) goes without saying so I guess what we should check out is how well the whole package is delivered. The recording begins with a smouldering sequence of thumping bass-drum monotony, insistent cymbal tapping and the barest sliver of guitar melody, on occasion accompanied by muttered vocals, all building towards a near-hysterical climax and the sudden explosion of blast-beat percussion, madly careening yet cut-glass precise riffing and melodies, and deathly dry-as-dust vocals. Part 1 continues all the way to the end at a steady if dense and heavy pace, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. Riffs change constantly and the vocals simmer with deep anger, spite and hostility. What the music lacks in depth of sound, atmosphere and mood, it compensates for (not always in full) with mixing melodies, riffs and rhythms so that listeners rarely get a chance to settle in but are kept on constant alert. This applies even more so to Part 2 which is nearly all runaway rhythms and dense guitar textures, apart from a slow(ish) instrumental section about the 24th minute.

Part 3 is the most varied of the trilogy with passages of near-ambient / near-industrial and epic sludge-doom, all accompanied by those familiar gruff, slavering DSO demon voices and in a stark atmosphere of dark, near-deranged malevolence. The crushingly heavy music actually boasts some memorable riffs and for all its bombast moves freely and relentlessly to the very end.

DSO's later recordings might be more musically complex and accomplished but this means that "Kenose" represents the band at its most streamlined and essential (in style, that is). Anyone wanting to know DSO at their basic best, starting to incorporate more jazz-oriented rhythms and complexity into the music, should be acquainted with "Kenose": this release is a good snapshot of the band in its younger days. The tracks here show a tight unit of musicians who know exactly what they want and how to achieve it, and the result is music that takes in influences from outside satanic BM and combines them all into powerful free-flowing work. At the same time, the music perhaps is a bit too polished and technical, and needs a more raw and savage quality which would make it even more powerful.