Live in Despair, Die in Solitary

Mainland China is very young in its exposure to metal compared to much of the rest of the world but it didn't take long for young Chinese to learn the language and subculture of black metal. This young band from Guangzhou in southern China has absorbed the lessons well, to judge by this one-track EP. "Live in Despair, Die in Solitary" is a very striking and remarkable recording that combines elements of symphonic music, formal classical piano, the moodiest of moody blues and absolute gut-wrenching BM derangement and hysteria.

The track begins with a carnivalesque atmosphere of wheezing whimsical accordion and spoken voice radio recordings that dissolve through wind and acid guitar chords into an absurdist universe of bleak anguished howl, machine-gun percussion and shrill acid-sharp guitar riffing that set the teeth on edge. The likes of Peste Noire, Diapsiquir and their ilk would be down on their knees worshipping this kind of grand-guignol BM melodrama. Moments of quiet and ominous doomy foreboding mix with passages of blazing guitar fire, and cinematic soundtrack music featuring choirs and escalating synth orchestra or grandly decadent piano gets a look-in as well. Beauty and ugliness, light and dark, the serene and the frenzied, in short everything that might be good, bad and the simply weird parade through this 27-minute tapestry of atmospheric black metal extravaganza.

There's always a danger with music like this that it'll dip into high camp but there are many suggestions in the quieter moments and the more powerful, raging sections that the Esthète Sinistre duo are sincere in their effort to create an expansive and expressive soundtrack of alienation, desperation and hopelessness. Occasionally a bright light shines through the darkness and you get a sense of the hunger, pathetic in its savagery, for comfort and hope, but the track descends again into pits of black despair and the anguish hits you hard in the stomach and leaves you gasping.

The drumming seems a bit flat and not nearly as powerful as it should be, due to the nature of the production which throws up a barrier between the music and the listener and heightens the sense of alienation and futility felt by the voices that scream for help. The acid sound heightens the edgy feeling - utter gabbling madness is just one change of mood away. In spite of its meandering nature, the track always has a strong focus and sense of direction.

Listeners may find themselves playing the EP again and again; there's something about it that's really compelling and you just can't tear yourself away from it. Every re-run reveals something new and disturbing. Even just looking at the EP's title with its odd wording - should that last word really be "solitary" or "solitude" or might it really mean something more sinister, like "solitary confinement" or "solitary punishment"? - adds to the complexity of this self-contained little world that turns out to be deeper than deep.