The Process of Self-Becoming

Another home run for Finland, as well as another grand slam from I, Voidhanger, an outstanding collective of relatively obscure artists that wouldn't have gained the recognition they deserved otherwise. Although they're known for being "that label with Esoctrilihum," all of the artists on their roster are of equal or greater quality in my opinion, this being one of the latter and my favorite of the bunch. This album is very dirgey black metal that occasionally seems to draw influence from older death/doom, not something that would be likely to appeal to a fan of old school black metal, nor is it something that would appeal to the post-black crowd. I'm not even sure who this would appeal to, but it definitely was a hit for me. It's about as unique as you can get while still being exclusively considered black metal and generally sticking to its formula. It isn't stale or hackneyed, nor is it excessively avant-garde. A ridiculously consistent album, every riff and lead is equally excellent, both from a strictly critical standpoint, as well as from an idealistic standpoint; effectively painting mental imagery of the album's theme of philosophical existential crises. The way their jagged logo is juxtaposed over one of the most unsettling greyscale album covers I've seen in a long time also represents the thematic concept and music very well. There's a lack of blasting, but it doesn't really need any, the music is intense and devastating enough without it.

The clean singing sections don't work quite as well, and they could've done without that. Not that it was a bad idea to include them on this album, but the execution is kind of angular and doesn't contrast as well as it should have. Other than that, I really don't have any gripes. This album made an impression on me immediately and didn't even begin to threaten to go downhill at any point.

As I stated before, it's difficult to compare to any other band. If I had to, it wouldn't be too farfetched to compare it to Axis of Light or Paysage d'Hiver. I guess you could say it's somewhere between Negură Bunget and Bathory, as well. It isn't very experimental other than in the songwriting itself, although they do use a pump organ, which I think was a very tasteful touch. But ​it definitely sounds like a band that you'd expect to come from I, Voidhanger. This is a fantastic contribution to modern black metal, and with bands like this around, the genre won't be getting stale any time soon, and the underground will continue to thrive with a clean bill of health.