Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2025
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Essenz > Mundus Numen > Reviews
Essenz - Mundus Numen

Tremendous tone and power, but little more - 60%

autothrall, August 21st, 2012

Essenz is a band which takes its hybrid of sub-genres seriously, ever seeking to balance off its bolder black metal elements against lurching doom sequences to the point where the album seems split about 50/50 between the two mediums. There is of course some integration of the pair, with the harsher rasped vocals being leveled out over the slower, grooving riffs, but ultimately I found myself leaning towards the doom half, since the riffs seem slightly fresher and more memorable than the blast beat rhythms which batter along in relatively predictable patterns. That's not to say that the album excels in either field, but it's at least an interesting fusion which the Germans have supplied with a massive, crushing production suitable for much immersion.

I have to admit that, surprisingly, my favorite track on this record was the instrumental "Observing Spectres - Schizophrenia", a disjointed noise track with clean guitars and titillating ambiance bisected with huge swells of distorted bass, rickety guitar effects and all manner of confusing chaos. This is the conceptual 'sequel' to slow, Sabbath groove of "Observed by Spectres - Paranoia" which provided a pretty great example of the band's overall duplicity. It opens with concrete grooves and then transforms into this double bass segment with driving, simplistic chords that churn repeatedly to create an atmosphere. Unfortunately, as with several other places on the album, once the band explores the blacker side of the coin, the riffs end up quite dull and uninspired, with rhythmic patterns and note selections that seem rather effortless. This is especially noticeable on a track like "Sea of Light - Plemora", where the fast riffing is used to set up a decent, punk/black rhythm. Granted, the tones on this album are so huge that the music still manages to beat in your eardrums.

The drums and bass are lockstep consistent and pulverizing, but with so few interesting guitar progressions to support, it all feels rather underwhelming outside of the production. The rasped and guttural vocals are also pretty average, and though the band weave in brief samples and other effects to create a more surreal, multi- dimensional feeling of atmosphere through the album, it never quite comes together for me. Also, with songs here that are often 10 or more minutes, I didn't feel that there was quite enough variation and riffing to keep my attention fixed for their entirety. Essenz does the slower, dense and droning death/doom well enough (as in "To the Bone - Mania"), and naturally their cohabitation of extreme styles creates an inherent level of dynamic tension throughout Mundus Numen. The album's loud and concussive mix will likely prove the envy of many other artists pursuing such vaunted levels of heaviness. However, while the band's lyrical themes and artwork provide a compelling sense of creativity (I also love their logo), I never felt satisfied in listening to this. The better riffs are too often offset by their less interesting counterparts, and though it's not a bad album for those seeking blackened doom done differently, I was left wanting in the end.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

The World is a Divinity - 87%

ultraviolet, July 12th, 2012

If the 90s were the decade of explosion for metal’s different subgenres (gothic, death, black, power etc), then 00s were definitely the era of the bands that made fusion of those subgenres. Add to that internet’s invaluable help, that gave bands and fans total access to tons of music and thus some of the most special cases in the extreme underground (or not) metal emerged.

Formed in what one could call a Mecca of European cultural heritage, Berlin, Essenz introduced themselves to us initially with their somewhat crude, yet promising “Mpetaphysis” EP, to make one year later enough ears turn towards their direction through their razing debut full-length. In there, borders between doom and black and death metal were destroyed and one could say that Ruins Of Beverast met the Evil that always lurked between the riffs of Black Sabbath and Pentagram. So far, so good, but now is the time of recognition or vanishing and this year’s “Mundus Numen” emphatically chooses the first option.

Maybe less chaotic and more homogeneous in comparison to its predecessor, the Berliners’ new creation is dominated by Spirituality and Will that give true meaning to riffs, which otherwise could even sound as outdated. An exo-cosmic atmosphere holds the lead role but the “key-player” here are the unstoppable maneuvers between pure doom metal (the riff at 1.50 in “Amor” is maybe one of the most addictive I’ve heard in years), blackened uproars and galloping death chords (can someone please lock MORBID ANGEL in a room where “Pleroma” plays on repeat?).

With the closing track “Mania” producing an almost unbearable industrial/post-metal coldness that meets on its way Isis jamming with Godflesh, Essenz at the end of their journey exult on the ruins of every subgenre they managed to deconstruct and manage to deliver a musical mixture solid enough to make us speak of their own personal sound. Now all we have to do, is leave any prejudice aside and dare to ride with them…


Originally written for:

http://theantifleshnimbus.wordpress.com/