The body of the devil is praised in all its orgiastic pleasures and delights from these sinister Frenchmen. Active since 2008 and with 3 albums prior to this, the band are dedicated practitioners of the dark arts. The strangely entitled Apocatastase is rooted in Zoroastrianism and refers to a great resetting where astral bodies are realigned to their original positions and everyone including the devil and those damned to hell will ultimately be saved. Pretty handy for me as the Zoroastrian HQ is just over the road, perhaps I should take this CD over and put in a claim for salvation.
The 6 tracks here make for an orthodox and ritualistic listening experience. Incense is mandatory as the music sinisterly swirls into being on the opening, title-track. A bilious smog unfolds which is eerie and has you looking for spectres emerging from the void. Drummer IX hammers in and guitars strim in thorny embrace, tightening like a noose, bass churns below and we wait for the arrival of the dark lord. In this case he is entitled Daemonicreator and at first, he mutters evilly in the background but we are prepared for rises in timbre as the devilish mass takes hold fully. Choppy rhythms and slow drum pounds are left to craft atmosphere for now and a decrepit oozing morass slinks out the speakers before the full hammering might of the track hones in. Now the vocalist is spitting curses, there are backing choral aspects and the overall impression is malicious. Maybe there is a thin dividing line between Zoroastrian and Luciferian practices but it is all about the latter here as it is projected via hideous diabolicalism, the clean and melodious backing chants making it all the more foreboding. Greek, English and Latin all seem to be utilised at times in the form of a play and speeds are varied moving from slow, doomy, stygian crawls to more bombastic all-out hostility. You get all these aspects in just the first couple of minutes of ‘Colludium’, the chaos indeed having everything colliding head-on. No messing with a track entitled ‘The Dissolution and Eternal Extasy in the Embrace of Satan’ and the blitz of speed reminds bit of the Imp Naz / Necromantia pairing that was Diabolos Rising. Speaking of things part Greek, George Emmanuel’s mix and mastering makes for a sound that brings to mind the likes of Rotting Christ and Acherontas.
Crawling insidiously ‘The Pillar Of The Snake’ sees the vocal gurgles ever the more craven and the myriad layers building with what sounds like horns of damnation given voice. Shortest and most extreme passage, ‘Triumphant Black Flame’ is nothing short of explosive and a fiery baptism before last part ‘At The Altar Of Infinite Night’ cloaks this perfectly composed 45-minute album in infinite, obsidian darkness. Apocatastase is a bit akin to wandering in unexpectedly on a black mass. All the colours of the dark are definitely on display here and if you are looking for an alternative soundtrack to religious festivities over the forthcoming ‘unhappy’ holidays, you will certainly find it here. The final message from our sponsors adorning the back cover of the booklet is “There is no higher purpose than the dissolution and eternal ecstasy in the embrace of Satan” and you better believe it folks.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
Leave a Reply