The Inexorable Darkness

First thing noted about "The Inexorable Darkness", the third album from solo BM act Malaöun, is that it features a new band logo which might suggest a change of musical direction. And indeed, right from the start with opener "In Twilight Slumber", Malaöun is a very different beast from what it was on "The Forsaken Spirit": sole musician ML has opted for a more atmospheric blackened death / doom approach, with a much clearer and sharper sound, and a bit more polish and depth in its presentation. "In Twilight Slumber" is dripping with real deathly menace in its infernal hellish tremolo guitar riffing, the deep bass grind and above all in the frightful wraith-like vocals that breathe evil and decay. Anyone who was expecting the straightforward melodic BM Malaöun of old is in for a tremendous shock: this project really has embraced a major transformation in style.

The hybrid black / death / doom style allows Malaöun more freedom to write varied and individual songs that can stand on their own as well as collectively form a distinct soundscape of utter blackness that reeks of evil, death and corruption. "A Communion of Darkness" ranges from death aggression to doom and back again, all under a veil of dark atmospheric BM, with ML's horrifically tortured vocals almost gasping for breath, potentially their last, as he rasps his way through the lyrics. Guitars storm away while the drumming, especially the snare drum, bangs out a near-industrial, nail-hammering rhythm. The hellish atmosphere so created continues into the next track "From the Depths of Abyss" where for the first time solo lead guitar more and more branches off onto a feverish and demented path while the other instruments pound out a formidable battery of black / death / doom grind.

The album continues its journey further into the depths of its particular Hell: a cavern completely immersed in an airy blackness, where ghosts and damned souls sigh, and any minute you could take a step and plummet thousands of miles deep into one of many abysses. The three-way balance of genres that has now become Malaöun's core approach can vary: one of the later tracks, "Curses", has a more pronounced death metal influence, and as the song continues, it switches more to melodic BM and even features a bit of lead guitar psychedelia. Closing track "A Funeral Pyre" sees Malaöun ride off from a death metal introduction into melodic metal darkling depths as the black atmosphere becomes ever colder and the singing more manic.

With a heavy grinding sound, machine-like drumming, hypnotic guitar tones, a cold dark catacomb-like atmosphere and those unforgettable vocals, Malaöun has done well in finding a new and distinct musical identity that can express whatever moods or atmospheres main man ML requires. Songs can range from one genre to another and another without losing focus or Malaöun's ambition. They seem to go deeper, heavier and more aggressive as the album continues. A very fine effort and a new beginning indeed.