Lurking in the Depths

Starting from a canonical minimalistic intro, "Lurking in the Depths" emits strong orthodox black metal, well, like it was frozen in time – "not a step back." But despite the fact that this piece of art uses almost all the old school tricks that you have heard a thousand times already (like a solo tremolo passage followed by drums after a while, and suchlike), the album is perceived quite fresh, it's interesting to listen to "Lurking in the Depths". Or maybe it would be more correct to say "to scrutinize", because the Portuguese Irae draw with their riffs gloomy pictures, – sombre pictures in dead colors that come to life in the listener's imagination. Here is a happy hunting ground for wandering through the inner recesses of the subconscious. Just listen to "Lurking in the Depths" assiduously.

Irae usually don't hurry: they (although this is a one-man band) conjure at an average pace, sometimes even slow down to a slow tempo (for example, the beginning of "Black Metal Violador" or "Ratazanas"). Sometimes the drums kick into a blast beat, too, but relentless blast beat attack doesn't dominate here at all. There is a reason for this: the adopted tempo is the best fit for the lurking narration: it hypnotizes, even lulls. The vocals – classic for old-school black metal: hateful and rough, "whispering", – work for the same purpose, help to put the listener into a trance. There is practically no emotion in this voice, although sometimes the vocalist emphasizes the riffs with his sick singing.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, "Lurking in the Depths" has a lot of early Darkthrone influences, especially in the first half: check out, for example, the riff in "Nightshade" at 3:11, or the opening slow riff in "Black Metal Violador", a little in the spirit of "Total Death". And then listen to this riff "without" Darkthrone – it's evil and beautiful, splashing like a sea of blood. Well, the beginning of the third song "Ratazanas" at first seems to be very "Darkthronish" again, but then it becomes clear that these are those who Darkthrone were inspired by, i. e. Celtic Frost. Nevertheless, Irae are trying their best to demonstrate their identity and originality, and Darkthrone gradually "fades into the background", so the fourth song "A Blaze in the Mist", despite its name, which is really like a pointing finger, is no longer perceived as "Darkthronish" black metal. This is what is called the magic of the artist. "A Blaze in the Mist" is perhaps the best song on the album, the most bewitching. As for the "picture", yes, this is precisely a blaze in the mist – airy fairy, impalpable, and mysterious.

The last time the ghost of Darkthrone appears in the last song "Carved in Pit Stones" at 1:20, but this impression is drowned in the common hopelessness of the song, right, this composition has the greatest atmosphere of fatality. And by extension, Burzum can be made out on "Lurking in the Depths" too, but this is not just early Burzum, tremolo picking lead lines in the spirit of "Belus" are also present here: "Ratazanas" at 2:17, " A Blaze in the Mist "at 1:37, the beginning of" Encurralado".

According to expectations, Irae's traditional tremolo-picked riffs are not sophisticated, but they are very substantial and often piercing, like a shimmering darkness – for example, in "Black Metal Violador" at 2:37, the opening riffs of "A Blaze in the Mist" and "Encurralado". The first riff of "Between Ruins", pretty fast, deserves special attention. It's represented as if it's drawn with an artist's brush: some kind of anxiety sounds here, as if someone is thrashing about between ruins, not knowing what to do with oneself. Furthermore, "Between Ruins" is the most "jerky" song in structure. However, "Encurralado" can compete with it.

And if during such a efficacious riff, the second guitar uses strumming across several strings (the opening riff in "Nightshade", the last riff in "Black Metal Violador", "Ratazanas" at 0:27), then it turns out very expressively – some note of hopelessness is added. As for a fingerpicking technique, it's rarely used on "Lurking in the Depths": this is a repeat of the classics and nothing more in "Between Ruins" at 1:28, in "Encurralado" at 2:37, and in "Carved in Pit Stones" at the very beginning (well, some kind of funeral waltz can be heard here), but this is a rather original manner in "A Blaze in the Mist" at 1:03 – the fingerpicking pattern sounds to the accompaniment of a fast drum line, – a very mesmerizing effect.

But the magic doesn't end there. Add to this impressive solos and leads, like in "Nightshade" from 3:26, – a piercing lead melody in the vein of the key act in "The Garden" by Einstürzende Neubauten. Or the sad tuneful solo in "Between Ruins" at 1:50, or the doomed one in "Encurralado" at 3:07. Certainly, "Lurking in the Depths" is a tasteful piece of art.

The production is very good, the sound is rather distinct, although the guitar sound is a little bit hollow. However, it gives a certain "true" charm to the recording. Another old school trick: the cymbals are louder than the snare, at least during fast passages – well, this "softens" the sound a little bit, and this is good for a hypnotic effect. Periodically throughout the album, barely audible howling and ringing are heard, which intensify the demonic chthonian atmosphere of "Lurking in the Depths".

Keyboards also appear from time to time, but not so loud and not so often that to break the "true" image of the album – just a little bit, but the atmosphere receives full satisfaction. If only in the seventh song "Calor, Fome e Doenças" at 1:41 an unusually atonal keyboard solo can be noted. It's important to bear in mind that this passage serves as a counterbalance, because "Calor, Fome e Doenças" is the most fast, harsh and aggressive song on "Lurking in the Depths". But at the same time it's melodic, strange melodic: as if something or someone is flying through mountains of corpses. A dark and expressive picture. Like the whole album, generally speaking.

The Metal Observer