‘Shock/Deny’ is the second album release from this Belgian band, and just like the first, ‘Acceptance/Rebuild’, it comprises of just two long tracks of black/doom/sludge/drone/ambient. But this time round, with decidedly better production values.
Once again the band deal with the ideas of loss, and both tracks (unsurprisingly titled) ‘Shock’ and ‘Deny’ total 30 minutes of uncompromising and bleak music.
The album swings successfully from goosebump-inducing drone, to mid-paced anguish, to full-pelt black metal, without losing sight of its overall aura of miserable ambiance. There’s an industrial feel to the proceedings as well, as the two tracks utilise some harsh soundscapes with the effective use of sampled female voices.
The second half of the album, ‘Deny’, comes across as probably the stronger of the two pieces, with the guitar sound really edging into coldness and detachment. Vocal wise, the high rasps (courtesy of “R”) are as black metal as you can get, but it suits the music admirably. Certainly in ‘Deny’, never has the word “Quiet” sounded so unnerving.
Lyrically speaking, there’s no religious or political agenda, just songs about coping with grief. What else would you expect from a band whose name translates as “Mourning”.
They have been described as “Blackgaze”, and if that term could mean permanently staring into a darkened abyss, then that shoe certainly fits. Check out the album trailer on YouTube, the grainy black and white imagery is so well tuned to the music, it will give you an idea of what to expect from your brain as you listen to ‘Shock/Deny’.
This is music to slowly suffocate to, and that can definitely be seen as a recommendation.
(7/10 Stuart Carroll)
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