Three years after The Pete Flesh Deathtrip assaulted the world with its debut album ‘Mortui Vivos Docent’, the band led by former Maze of Torment shredder Pete Flesh has returned. That previous disc was a fine example of blackened Swedish death metal, taking cues from many of that country’s legendary ’90s acts. To boot, it also boasted one of the weirdest looking and most memorable covers I can recall from any album for a long time (the fact it was modified for a later pressing is nothing less than inexplicable). With ‘Svartnad’ the immediate impression to be gained from the artwork is one of far more restraint and darkness, and when it comes to the music this sense only increases.
The main thing to emphasise about ‘Svartnad’ in comparison to its full-on black-death predecessor is just how atmospheric the thing is. ‘In Ruinam Iniquitas’ quickly acquaints us with the band’s new approach; from the barging opening chords, the composition builds into a tapestry of darkness, incorporating numerous tangents along the way – from the threatening to the sublime. Where the debut contained similar traits, here the whole approach is more methodic, sophisticated and varied. The riffs here, for instance, just don’t charge out a la Dissection or Dismember. From the opener’s blackened melody we go to ‘Burial Shore’, which conveys pathos via its mix of crushing hopelessness and beauty. Following that, ‘All the Serpents’ exhibits signs of ‘Draconian Times’-era Paradise Lost, contrasting between bleakness, clouds of wafting melody and intense bludgeoning. The whole can be best described as a soundscape of moods, heightened all the while by Flesh’s hoarse, venomous vocals – which retain every iota of their previous aggression and disdain.
What, for me, makes ‘Svartnad’ such an effective experience – for all its subtle divergence – are the underlying death metal sensibilities inherent to Pete Flesh and his music. On ‘The Sun Will Fail’, we go from gothic melancholy to supremely powerful riffs which are thrust into immediate, brilliant focus thanks to their deathly manner. That said, the same can equally be applied to the main-man’s appreciation for black metal dynamics. One of the best tracks on the album, ‘The Winter of the Wolves’ proves to be a reflective journey rendered all the more impacting due to its opening black metal thrust and groove and the sporadic savage bites that are delivered along the way. In line with the diversity of that genre, its influence is similarly varied across the album. ‘Svartnad’ itself evidences this with a creeping sense of desolation as the composition builds. Once again however, this closing track on the album cannot be characterised as a ‘standard’ black or death metal track, undulating as it does between blunt chords and pervasive melody peppered with piano notes.
The concluding statement on ‘Svartnad’ is perhaps the most revealing as a solitary, unexpected gunshot brings the journey to an end. To me, it appears as if the entire album’s course represents the gamut of experiences and feelings leading up to this suicidal act. It would certainly also explain the inherent doom and bleakness that underpins ‘Svartnad’, which in the band’s native Swedish appears to translate to “blackened”. For all of the epic and emotive aspects at work – including those gothic overtones in a couple of tracks – there is nothing at all contrived, and overall the stylistic side-step Pete Flesh has made here is as successful as it is surprising.
(8.5/10 Jamie)
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