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Ordo Templi Aeternae Lucis - 97%
Ordo Templi Aeternae Lucis (the name is a mouthful) is one of the most intricate and greatest black metal bands I have come across in my years of searching. For the first half of this split, I was ecstatic. This can’t be said for Hayras, which I will write a separate review for on their own page, because I do not want to bring down Ordo Templi Aeternae Lucis’s grade because of them. This is what true symphonic black metal should be, fucking brutal. The music is intense and, literally, almost scary. I am, of course, talking about the events behind the song Necrophilia 1996. All great artists have a flaw, I suppose.
Normally, I don’t go for splits, and the latter half of this specific one is why. What this band does is art in its most depraved and demented form. Each song by Ordo Templi Aeternae Lucis is masterful in its own way. Ignoring the simple Intro track, the album starts with Ultime Sacrement, an intense, unholy track with masterful guitar work, crisp screams, blast beats, and haunting clean vocals that remind me of the Satanic Rites. The infamous Necrophilia 1996, a truly haunting and inspiring track that opens with dark piano and shows a completely different side of the music while style being brutal and atmospheric. The female chants are haunting and the music is just morbid. It needs not words to describe it. The music, though consistent, manages to change up, taking a more old school heavy metal meets black metal riff with the opening of When The Goddess Dances.
The low production quality does not hinder this release. If anything, it boosts its musical value.
With a lot of black metal bands, I tend to find that the music becomes monotonous and runs together. You won’t find that here. This is pure musical pleasure that is a must for anyone who calls themselves a black metaler.
In my review for Ordo Templi Aeternae Lucis, I have nothing but praise and I gave a deserving, high rating. Now for the second part, Hayras.
It’s hard for me to bring to words what Hayras is. The best thing I can describe it as is the feedback static of your television with a groove. As a black metal fan, I’ve heard some low quality shit, and this is not the worst. Though the production quality is terrible, it is not all that is wrong here. It doesn’t even sound like the guy attempted to make this sound good. It sounds like his purpose for Hayras on this split was to make Ordo Templi Aeternae Lucis sound even better then it already did.
You can not hear the bass at all. The guitars are so far in the back of the fuzz it’s really hard to decipher some of the riffs that are being played. The vocals are very muffled by the low sound quality. The drums are very hard to hear as well. It is like that the entire time pretty much. What you hear is good, but it’s a matter of hearing it that become a problem.
Another reason Hayras fails in comparison to Ordo Templi Aeternae Lucis is the fact that the music follows a much more generic standard of your stereotypical black metal. Take what I said in the previous paragraph and digest it. This is basically Darkthrone playing through an even crappier recording system. Keys would help this a lot, otherwise it sounds like blackened drone music sped up to about 160 bmp. When and if you look into this split, I recommend sticking with the first half only.
