Fourteen years after their last full-length – and the only one I have any experience of – Sweden’s black/industrial pessimists Diabolicum return. That previous record ‘The Dark Blood Rising’ was from recollection (the CD resides across the open sea from my current location) a feral patchwork of rage with moments of ambiance dotted throughout. Since then the band has kept itself mildly active with splits involving Watain and Angst, and the odd early demo collection. While they initiated work on their third album some time ago – with new (and since departed) vocalist Niklas Kvarforth and lead guitarist Likstrand – it seems that numerous obstacles have hindered the release of ‘Ia Pazuzu’. But as the adage goes, what doesn’t kill you only makes you deadlier…
As ‘Void of Astoroth’ charges nihilistically out, the organic sounding drums which accompany those chilling riffs and ‘s commanding vocals are striking. However, it doesn’t take long for a time change to usher in more mechanised tones; the subsequent programmed drum patterns meshing perfectly with those flesh searing riffs. From the off, it’s fair to say that ‘Ia Pazuzu’ represents a far less clinical form of Diabolicum than ‘The Dark Blood Rising’. ‘Silent Spring’ continues this sense through its slow, hope drained black metal, which finds time for a contemplative pause. There are of course industrial noises infesting the sound but aspects such as impassioned solo work and that constant of Kvarforth’s voice – which is a cut above your average vocalist’s – certainly render this a more sophisticated beast. We even get a full-on techno aside disrupting the layers of blackened industrial filth at one point, just to reiterate the band’s fearless experimentalism.
For all this talk of development though, Diabolicum is naturally still a pessimistic entity par excellence at heart. The track which contains the above mentioned techno is an otherwise angry, disturbing and equally disturbed piece of work. Elsewhere, the likes of ‘Salvation through Vengeance’ and ‘One Man’s War’ operate just as you would expect them to. The former contrasts needling riffs and double bass with harmonic keyboard riffs, only for a magnificent example of spiralling solo madness to settle the debate; while the latter destroys through a combination of violence and grandiosity – successive nihilistic statement built upon nihilistic statement. Arguably no track embodies the band’s negative perspective on existence more than final track proper ‘Angelmaker’ however. The composition morphs from eery/lulling into dark showers of indifference and outright disdain, climaxing with the sound of a burning structure and baby’s cries. Brutal stuff indeed.
Where ‘Ia Pazuzu’ broadly contains the same ingredients as the only other Diabolicum album I can compare it to – namely black metal, industrial, emotionally detached samples and tangents – it’s a far more significant listening experience. Not only are all these elements beefed up, the tracks themselves are far more cohesive, developed strands of music. Where a lot of that previous album contained captivating ideas, the songs themselves were inaccessible to the extreme. Here, for all that its designers still have zero regard for expectations or conventions, the listener is enveloped by each cold movement. And if you happen to be in a mood of disillusionment with the hypocrisies of humankind, ‘Ia Pazuzu’ definitely fits the bill.
(8.5/10 Jamie)
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