Empires Vanquished and Dismantled

Greek atmospheric project Spectral Lore has been turning quite a few heads in the last ~15 years, with its highly original, melting-pot brand of black metal continuously pushing the limits of the actual genre. A couple years ago, mastermind Ayloss must have thought he had some creativity in excess, since he started a brand new, parallel journey, under the name Mystras. Maybe because of a newfound love for history, he set Mystras' concepts during the Middle Ages as a means to bring forth his social message, even labeling his creature 'Medieval Black Metal against Empire and Aristocracy'. This year's Empires Vanquished and Dismantled is already the second effort under this moniker.

The beautiful, immersive intro track 'The Nightingale' successfully catapults the listener into a mysterious Byzantine atmosphere, firstly by virtue of the exquisitely oriental violin melodies, then with a real local instrument (the Turkish ney), all elements that will reappear throughout the course of the album. The track itself, like most of the non-metal material, is a cover of an obscure traditional/folk song, already implying the man was dead serious about this concept. The following track 'On the Promises of Angels' is a raw, furious black metal piece, which intentionally builds a harsh contrast (hey, black metal isn't supposed to be pretty, after all).

To be fair, for a first gripe of mine, Empires Vanquished and Dismantled mostly follows this constant alternation of a black metal song and a folk interlude, and I'm not the biggest fan of this move, since I'd rather hear a black metal band just fully diving into a hybrid style like Panopticon or Primordial did. In any case, later highlights like 'To the Builders!' and 'The Favor of the Saints', as well as the solemn closer 'In the Company of Heretics', are perfectly effective and epic, ultimately succeeding where 'On the Promises of Angels' fell a bit short. The obvious eye-catcher is the 14-minute long mammoth 'The Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem', which goes through a giant buildup for about 8 minutes and then just explodes into an emotional climax. This stuff is simply intense on so many levels.

Mystras retains Spectral Lore's lo-fi aesthetic and sound, which may seem a bit too raw to also handle the additional instruments, to the untrained ear (read: me), but if you're already familiar with SL, here it's actually clearer. I also admired Ayloss' dedication invested into finding someone who could play those original instruments, since they turned out to be absolutely crucial for Empires Vanquished and Dismantled's atmosphere. It's somewhat of a pity that the vocals find themselves in this unfortunate middle ground of being a bit too prominent when layered, and yet not particularly discernible otherwise, especially the narration-like sections. This especially because lyrics are worth acknowledging – there's plenty of evidence that Ayloss didn't want to limit himself to give a detailed, yet aseptic historical narration:

So let it be known then to tyrants
That should you lay your hopes to inequity
Your own gods and saints will abandon you
And the great empire of Rome, whomever it might worship
Will crumble for the final time soon upon its feet ('The Favor of the Saints')

And the slaves of old cried for the masters of tomorrow
For their names were uttered in vain
And their stories carved on the edge of the sword
Spoke on ears which only listened to the promises of angels ('On the Promises of Angels')

Yet, this time, can there be a greater irony and insult that
After the clanging of swords and firing of catapults
Those we thought for decades as barbaric creatures
From the hands of whose we needed to wrest the holy lands
Have let us walk away alive from the walls of Jerusalem? ('The Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem')

and many other examples I omit for length reasons, so keeping an eye on the booklet while the tracks flow is mandatory for the full experience. Hell, I bet it could be an interesting read even for metal haters...

It goes without saying that every black metal fan in the mood for ethnic influences and experimentations alike, as well as everyone in a constant research for original releases, shouldn't be put off from checking out Empires Vanquished and Dismantled by my apparent tepidity. The review title is my friendly advice to the listener who comes from a background similar to mine, and its length exceeding a full hour implies that it's by no means an easy album, but those already familiar with this kind of sound should throw themselves fully into it. It's always amazing to hear what single ambitious individuals with a grand vision can create on their own, and Ayloss confirms once more he's part of that category.

-review written for the 8th Diamhea Memorial Review Challenge – may you rest in peace, Chris.