Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath

"Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath" is the sixth album of the French black metal band Esoctrilihum, or you might even say of a lone Occultist named Asthâghul, because Esoctrilihum is a one-man band. This is a very atmospheric work, ah, the Occult feeling here is so dense that it seems to be palpable, viscous aura draws you in from the very first note. "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath" can be described as an amalgam of symphonic black metal and melodic / brutal (yep) death metal, but at the same time it would not be the most correct description, very approximate. Without going into the details and subject matter of the lyrics, suffice it to point out that "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath" is topically divided into 4 parts, three songs each. Well, it's kind of like chapters in a novel, but let's try to track the musical progression according to this demarcation.

Perhaps we need to start with the fact that one of Esoctrilihum's favorite passages at a slow pace is the dominant keyboard / synthesizer melody, accompanied by a violent double bass attack. The overlapping drum samples (yes, it's a drum machine) are cracking so much that behind this crackle it is impossible to make out the guitar part quite easily, especially if the palm muting technique (which produces a percussive effect) is used. Sometimes it is impossible even to understand whether there is a guitar in this passage. We are not saying that it is bad, in this particular case, but it is very revealing as an indicator of the production level.

We'll talk more about the guitar sound later, as for the transcription of the bass sound, it does not always work too. At the very least, we did it only at the "Dy'th" beginning, where a dry, tough rhythm reigns, and in the last "Hjh'at" – here you can hear its "clanking" sounds. You can even say that the bass is grunting, yes, it has a sullen role. While the snare drum is booming, with too much delay, well, it sounds strange and unnatural, but at least this peculiarity gives the album's sound some feeling of a damp basement. Well, the production cannot be called poor, it cannot even be called raw, you know, it is a very DIY production with all the ensuing consequences. Thus, you now have a basic understanding of the production on "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath".

So, the "keyboards plus double bass attack" manoeuvre is used throughout the entire album, to the very end, but more often in the first of the four parts. This is one of the reasons why we can conclude from the first three songs that Asthâghul plays mostly at a slow tempo, and his brainchild is rather slowed down symphonic black metal. And although the blast beat, as well as, by the way, tremolo picking, really appears only in the third "Tyurh" (and in any case, this song turns out to be the most black metal-ish in the first part), we immediately warn you that this is an erroneous opinion, symphonic black metal only has to do with the beginning, not the whole album. One might even say that the first three songs are a kind of prolonged and sophisticated intro for "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath".

In addition, judging by the first quarter of the album, except some exceptions the guitar is assigned an auxiliary function. All thanks to the "keyboards plus double bass attack" manoeuvre again. Moreover, the guitar takes on the function of such a backing support even during fast sections – if the keyboard line takes the lead, then the guitar line simply cannot struggle through a blast beat attack. And yet the first part gives a cogent sense of the guitar sound: at the end of "Tyurh" a rhythm guitar line creeps out, and it sounds in splendid solitude (in the right channel only) for a while. Here it becomes clear that it is actually malicious and visceral, almost like in goat black metal. Yes, the guitar sound on "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath" is very heavy and powerful, definitely, the guitar always gives the music some kind of hidden threat.

Well, this appearance of the "goat black metal-ish" guitar was done for a reason: forget about symphonic black metal and keyboard lines. The very first song of the "second stage", "Baahl Duthr", in contrast to the previous ones, turns out to be a full-fledged "guitar" song. It has a sophisticated riffage, and it is mainly death metal riffage, this time the keyboards practically do not interfere with the guitar part. It is safe to say that in the next song, "Agakuh", it is the turn of the solos and licks to "take revenge" – yes, this is not their first appearance, but before they were very "modest". An almost full-fledged solo (not a simple looped lick) creeps out at 1:51, it is a bit Bethlehem-like, too bad it's short. But "Eginbaal" is definitely losing the guitar position again, unless when a very hard rhythm section is supplanted by a bewitching solo at 3:15. Nevertheless, the second part shows that the guitar is a very strong and important element of "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath".

In its turn, the third stage demonstrates the diversity of Esoctrilihum's music. "Dy'th" is almost a death metal piece, it is quite brutal death metal, in the vein of Immolation maybe. Most of the song is devoid of the keyboards, only the guitar part sometimes indicates nonnormality of death metal from Esoctrilihum. Only at the end, after a tapping style solo, a little "lazy", we again deal with the "keyboards and double bass attack" symbiosis. However, this is a very aggressive song, the level of anger grows inexorably, and here, for the first time, we can draw an analogy with Anaal Nathrakh. But the next song "Craânag" is a completely ambient / almost martial industrial track, which has something in the spirit of the early Laibach, diluted with a soft symphonic component. "Zhaïc Daemon" can be called more black metal-ish with typical tremolo picks, it is a blast-beat laden black metal phantasmagoria, which is pierced by melodic parts sometimes.

At the fourth stage malice reaches its apogee. "Nominès Haàr" and "Xuiotg" are almost completely filled with grindcore ferocity, and the drum machine's sound is so overdriven here that the "kicks" almost break your speakers, while the guitar part again, as in the very beginning, cannot be deciphered, though the riffs are most likely present here. Yes, a blasting rampage has been encountered before ("Tyurh", "Baahl Duthr", "Eginbaal", "Dy'th", "Zhaïc Daemon"), but here it is elevated to a cult. Maybe "Xuiotg" is even more Anaal Nathrakh-like – because of scorching tremolo riffs and cosmic keyboards Esoctrilihum's grindcore procedure sounds here like some kind of wild industrial experiment. But on the whole, this grindcore madness seems to want to surpass Anaal Nathrakh. Ah, the final "Hjh'at" is almost an ambient track again. As in "Salhn", strange violins, disingenuous and conspiratorial, run the show here. This time they generate some kind of absurd funeral march.

Well, at your leisure, you can compare the lyrics to the musical progression we have just analyzed, and you will understand what's what. We only review music here, but it's understandable that in the case of "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath", music and lyrics are inextricably linked, it's more of a sound novel.

Anyway, the vocals on the album are varied and diversified, to match for the "stages", but strictly within the genre's well-defined boundaries. Whispering, then canonical black metal-ish in the spirit of Graveland or Countess, and then slightly hysterical ("Ezkikur"); strained, like sandpaper on the ears ("Salhn"); almost normal singing – the voice repeats a heavily processed guitar part ("Baahl Duthr"); almost death metal vocals with hysterical and stifled cries ("Agakuh"); classic death metal vocals ("Dy'th"); typical black metal vocals, almost shrieking ("Zhaic Daemon"), incomprehensible screams, then singing again, well, and vocals in the vein of Inquisition ("Nominès Haàr"); a hysterical and strained voice, yes, here Asthâghul even squeals – the degree of psychosis is increasing ("Xuiotg"). You must admit that not every black metal or death metal album contains such a rich spectrum of vocals. Maybe this is a DIY recording, but Asthâghul did a great job.

Yes, when listening to "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath" you may get a feeling of chaos and disorder, but actually the riffs are not so badly matched to each other, everything is thought out here according to the idea of the album. Umph, almost all the songs are cut off at the end, the fade-outs are made deliberately careless – such an anti-aesthetics are also bad for the positive perception of the work, well, we guess this schtick was adopted from "true black metal", where comfort is not particularly concerned. In addition, not everyone can withstand such a long and extremely intense album. So take care of yourself, listen to "Dy'th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath" in parts and you will be happy, because the weird charming melodies that fill all the songs really open a portal to another dimension.

The Metal Observer