This is the second album from this Lithuanian band, following “Illusions of Eternity” in 2017. They describe their black metal as “dissonant”. Well that’s one word for it.

I was surprised to hear a dark industrial electronic beat to begin, even it was the intro. Now that we are firmly positioned in the punishment chamber, we move onto “Scorched Timeless”. The dissonance is there and reminiscent of Blut aus Nord but this is heavy, violent and driving. Sisyphean impose a dominant and weighty scene, but it is one which is bordered with intrigue. Figurative towers crash down. The vocalist cries out as if he’s telling the story of the end of the world. The atmosphere is highly charged and black, black, black. Explosions reignite the fires which are always blazing. “Scorched Timeless” is powerful. It made me sit up and listen. The pace picks up and we are swept away in the blastbeating violent winds of “Hearts of Mercury”. Walls are beaten down. The wall of noise is there but this is the story of destruction and war. Layers of sound stand over the irrepressible drums and swathes of turbulence and catastrophe. The riff tells us that murder hangs in the air.

Menace and despair permeate the tense “Sovereigns of Livid Hope”. It is full of drama. The tension is heightened further as “Exiles” rings out imperiously and dominantly. As the drums blast and the guitars create dark patterns, the vocalist cries out desperately. As a listening experience, it’s exhilarating and even uplifting. The cloudy skies are black. This warmongering is worthy of Endstille. On the subject of German bands, which Sisyphean aren’t, “Open Wounds” has a chilling creepiness akin to Dark Fortress. It’s like a march to something terrible. The final song “Conqueror” starts with a menacing beat, and continues with customary solid structure, gnawing away at our vulnerabilities without mercy. The whistling storm clouds gather before the relentless march continues to an imperious end.

This is the best of black metal. Always invasive and cleverly transforming in style without ever losing its edge, “Colours of Faith” is an atmospheric attack of the darkest kind. The evil winds of this album both transfixed me and blew me away

(9.5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/sisyphean13

https://sisypheanband.bandcamp.com/album/colours-of-faith-dissonant-black-metal