Frost bitten French ritualists Nyseius are on their second album now after the last one, more or less an extended EP, introduced the band with a nice icy blast onto the scene. But it’s been years since that album was first recorded back in 2006 even if it only emerged several years later and there was clearly some pent up creativity bursting to get out from someone here. Whether brevity was a virtue or a shortcoming the first time round, they’ve certainly not let it hold them back this time. De Divinatione Daemonum is a journey into the coldest wastelands, miserable underground caverns and blackest firmament in search of dark forces that combines the grim early 1990s with the more recent wave of ritualistic, entity-worshiping crop of black metal bands. I’m always impressed at any band that takes on a project like this and manages to, for the most part, pull it off. It’s a decent shot at creating a career defining masterwork that should get Nyseius noticed in the underground even if it’s unlikely to challenge anyone’s preconceptions of what black metal is all about in the outside world. The riffs vary from the single picked, scale-sliding tremolos to bleakly grinding and sinister clockwork style that will feel familiar to even the most casual fan of the Norwegian style of Emperor, Gorgoroth or early Marduk.
The first-half of the album hacks and drifts its way through several tracks of varying pace that do a fairly good job of absorbing you into the world of these French contenders. The intro track is completely mesmerising and could have probably gone on forever without me even noticing. The next track, Extinction of the Seven Divine Spirits, brings on the Nyseius sound proper and digs pretty deep to set the scene with a range of riffs and vocals. But while the next track Job’s Revelation begins to dig the furrow even deeper I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were settling in for the long haul. However, Towards the True Light begins to add back in a bit of musical depth – a slow grinder that leads in perfectly to the mire of the ritualistic Lamentation Prayer and then the increasingly more intense second half of the album.
We’re then into a classic 90s blizzard before the album begins to draw itself together for the finale. But the time the eighth track Manifestation of the Celestial Entities hits we’re, frankly, departing the solid ground of terra firma altogether – or, at least, terra tundra. The mood on penultimate track Lucifer Contemplation takes a more emotionally charged turn before the darkness becomes almost all consuming on the final 9 minute track Black God Ascension.
I would say one of my biggest criticisms of albums of this style and length is that, while individual elements can be stunning, I can think of countless examples where the musical narrative fails to make itself apparent even after repeated listens. Lots of hard work by the listener and not enough inspiration on display. There are one or two tracks here that I would happily have sent out into the snow for a long walk and which might have made this an all the more tight and direct experience, But, that aside, Nyseius just about manage to deliver in full providing just enough subtle differentiation through the tracks that you’re kept guessing and anticipating what might come next. I’m not sure De Divinatione.;.. is enough to prove these guys are the masters of their icy domain just yet. But they have stuck their necks out and made a grab for glory that immediately gives them the edge over a host of other bands and that deserves a lot of credit. This is uncompromising black metal with an awareness of the need to provide an adventure for the listener, even though the parameters are set within clear and present boundaries. De Divinatione Daemonum is a decent stab with the old ice pick and one that should provide Nyseius with a firm foundation for the future.
(7/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
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