Consecration of the Spiritüs Flesh

France’s Esoctrilihum doesn´t seem to have any intention of slowing down its pace of releases. Since the project’s inception in 2016, its mastermind Asthâghul has been releasing albums every year since 2017. That fact would be something to praise when the quality is good, even if the stuff would be an easy one to digest. But every listener who has ever checked out this project’s music knows the level of complexity, experimentation, and uniqueness that Esoctrilihum always delivers. The bar was even higher with its two last masterpieces, that successfully mixed its most experimental side with some memorable melodies and a strong atmospheric touch. But Asthâghul is by no means a conformist artist, as he has tried to push the project’s boundaries once more with the new release.

'Consecration of the Spiritüs Flesh' is the name of the new beast, and by far the shortest of all albums that Esoctrilihum has released so far. This may give you an idea of one of the most essential characteristics of the new album. Yes, this album is undoubtedly its most brutal album to date. It’s a furious monster that crushes every bone from the beginning to end and makes me remember the most brutal songs of the previous album 'Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath'. The final part of that album showed some quite extreme tunes that have been an anticipation of the new opus. What It happens is that 'Consecration of the Spiritüs Flesh' goes even further in terms of ferociousness. Initially, I thought that this could be a problem as I am an absolutely fan of Esoctrilihum’s most atmospheric and hypnotic side. Fortunately, this album is not a uni-dimensional depiction of brutality, as it still has some room for atmosphere and the band’s trademark unique melodies. In any case, the traditional occult atmosphere remains in the background as this is essentially a suffocating and chaotic collection of songs that captures the listener and throws him into a dark abyss. The album opener "Spiritüs Flesh" is a perfect portrait of how the album sounds, with its super intense and crushing pace, full of incredibly fast drums, ferocious riffs, and grim vocals. The song, as the rest of the album, pushes you to the limit, but never beyond as there is always a little room for the beloved captivating melodies, which remind us Esoctrilihum’s core sound. The subsequent track, the amazing "Therth", continues on a similar path with another fine example of chaotic brutality enriched by some interesting arrangements which are a welcome addition to the track. The addition of an always inspired moment of melody in the middle of a devastating sonic storm is what makes this album still special.

The vocals are as brutal as the rest of the musical elements contained in this album. From the generally used high-pitched agonic vocals to the not so prominent death metal influenced growls, or the slightly more melodic, yet ghostly, vocals, Asthâghul’s vocal performance is on par with the level of brutality and inspiration that this album requires. All the mentioned range of voices are contained in several tracks, being one of the most recommendable ones the song "Shohih", which perfectly sums up how this album sounds. "Tharseîdhon" is the shortest track and one of the most crushing ones, which is difficult to highlight in such a heavy album. This is probably the composition that mixes more clearly the death and black metal influences in an unsurprisingly chaotic, yet inspired, way. It must be mentioned how devastating the drums are in this song, and being sincere, in the whole album. Still, as a trademark of this album, this short song has some hypnotic and atmospheric arrangements and melodies that make it special. The album ends with that was probably my favourite track, "Aath". This long piece of music is maybe the most atmospheric one and also the one that reminds me more the previous albums. Still, the brutality is again a key element, and logically it won’t be seen as a outsider in this album.

In conclusion, Esoctrilihum has once again made it. 'Consecration of the Spiritüs Flesh' is another great release and yet another reason to pay some attention to this project. Honestly, I clearly prefer the two previous albums as they have a much stronger atmospheric and hypnotic touch, which is the perfect sound to represent Esoctrilihum’s musical concept. In any case, this album, although it shows a more virulent face of this project, still maintains the essential experimental and mesmerizing spirit and ambience of Esoctrilihum, which is obviously great. This loyalty gives sense to the new album and establishes a bridge between this new opus and the previous ones.

Originally written for "www.thepitofthedamned.blogspot.com."

Up to his seventh album for the deranged psychedelic blackened death project that is Esoctrilihum in six years and still there is no stopping Asthâghul who surely hails from the same realms that he sings about on previous Esoctrilihum albums. How else to explain his incredible work rate in which nearly every year he puts out yet another full-length recording of the most insanely aggressive and demented music? Raw and savage, vicious and dark, and above all absolutely self-abasing, apocalyptic and despairing: "Consecration of the Spiritüs Flesh" distils much of what Esoctrilihum has always revolved around on previous albums - a nihilistic view of the universe in which humans are beset and dominated by dark and hostile forces, psychologically and spiritually as well as physically - in a more concentrated and streamlined black / death metal style. At 42 minutes, the album may be a baby compared to previous hour-long efforts but its rage, brutality, pain and terror are all the more intense and terrifying.

From the first track "Spiritüs Flesh" on, this is unabashedly raw brutal blackened death metal featuring the most punishing and relentless machine blast-beat percussion and absolutely venomous guitar scrabbling, akin to a continuous cutting chainsaw going at insane speeds through entire continental forests of trees, all topped by duetting (if not quite duelling) demon vocalists spitting acid saliva and bits of crushed rock from their throats. Having mocked choirs of chanting monks on "Spiritüs Flesh" against a background of near-industrial death metal and a desolate mood, the twin black and death metal vocals carve up what grey matter remains between your ears along with chaotic roller-coaster guitars, orchestral synth bombast and the screams of the damned falling into the blackest pits of Hell on "Thertrh".

Each succeeding song emphasises a different aspect and level of the chaotic insanity of the Esoctrilihum universe, and how it twists what we know or take for granted into a ghastly savage caricature. "Shohih" is nearly all triggered percussion taken up to its most extreme speeds while demons bark around it and guitars pursue their own manic path. As the album continues, ambient psychedelia penetrates through the darkness and pummelling machine rhythms ("Tharseïdhon") though it does not promise hope or comfort to us humans. The sense of impending madness and the self-loathing, pain and agony that accompany it becomes ever more apparent ("Scaricide") as the album admits more melancholy and bleak dark ambient soundscapes behind the desperate aggression.

At times the album can still sound cartoony and self-indulgent to the point of self-parody but a clear narrative from ritual self-abasement of the early tracks through creeping madness in the middle tracks and into total darkness in closing track "Aath" reins in any tendency on Asthâghul's part to overdo the drama and bombast. In spite of the excess, especially on "Aath", the album never feels histrionic: it actually seems very balanced and, for all the intensity and sheer extreme aggression and madness, it is easy (for me anyway) to follow. The early violence of the title track and "Thertrh" lessens after those tracks and through the rage of the songs that follow, desperation, pain and perhaps even an appeal for any help or comfort start to show.

Many bands and artists have made careers out of detailing the loss of human connection, alienation from a society in breakdown, personal despair in a hopeless situation, and the consequent spiral into depression to the point of self-harm and suicide but very few have portrayed such experiences, with all the chaos and pain involved, in such a stunning and confronting way as Asthâghul has done here. While the album is definitely less atmospheric and more "metal" than its predecessors, an alien universe is still present and draws you deep into its chaos. Though "Consecration ..." is a more compact and direct work than what Asthâghul / Esoctrilihum has done in the past, it ends up far more extreme and deranged than those other, more eccentric albums. Asthâghul has probably outdone himself here and delivered his best work.