This particular piece of black bile comes from Poland courtesy of Medico Peste, who have trading their brand of so-called schizophrenic black metal since 2010.
This is not black metal of a vanilla nature, as people say nowadays. It’s grey and shady as you’d expect. I detected more of a human element, with strong suggestions of illness and suffering. “God Knows Why” reminded me more of Dark Fortress than anyone else, with a little bit of Vesania and Lilla Veneda thrown in. There are historical connections in this band with Mord ‘A” Stigmata too. We are put through the mill. “ ב :The Black Bile” builds on a specific vision of madness, we’re told. Structurally it’s abnormal but consistent in its atmosphere, which is created through some violence but above all many dark, dark moments and soundscapes. “All Too Human” is uplifting in the way that black metal can be but so too it is grey and contemptuous. Haunting ghouls come out and fly around. A voice croaks in this distorted atmosphere. It was uplifting. It’s now terrifying. This mini opus picks up the pace and ends imperiously and darkly. “Numinous Catastrophy” is a sinister and ghastly experience, sophisticated in its musicianship but again with the murderous intent of Dark Fortress. This is followed by the rancid deathliness of “Were Saviours Believers”. And on this work progresses dingily and spookily. The instrumentals are off centre, and in the case of “Skin”, punctuated by a grimy bass guitar section. The tempo swings up and down but the air is always nasty. The vocalist roars hoarsely. “Holy Opium” is like a death march, employing sound distortions as we drown in the monotone progression. Deathly squeals and growls mark the title track. The atmosphere is one of morbid suspense. You wonder what’s happening out there. It’s not nice, whatever it is, as it creeps along before ending powerfully.
Seven substantial pieces make up this grim and grisly album. “ ב :The Black Bile” can be tough going but this is the depiction of a tough world. Medico Peste don’t follow convention. The big plus points about this album are its dark musical progressions and its twisted imagination, leading us to wallow in its disturbed despair and misery.
(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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