You wouldn’t want anyone throwing a Pestilent Hex at you, would you? Imagine what you could end up with, all manner of nastiness. Covid would be a prime example perhaps. It could even be booby-trapped within the music itself. We all know about that terrible plague of deaths the Japanese suffered in the wake of that Ring video tape virus and they are still recovering from that after passing it on to Hollywood and the USA. Anyway, silliness aside and the timing of this writer’s infection upon listening to this album is purely coincidental. I have to put that proviso up as some numpties will believe anything.

It’s Finland we turn to and multi-instrumentalist L Oathe and lyricist and vocalist M Malignant. Both are known for moving in death and doom circles on acts such as Corpsessed Desolate Shrine, Convocation and Profetus and you know what? They make a pretty damn good job of black metal here too.

The Ashen Abhorrence swaggers in formatted over six chapters, with no need of intro. We are in the midst of things straight away as the first and title track coats us in its fiery cinders. This takes the listener back to the early days with its symphonic approach citing the likes of Emperor, Arcturus et al with its melodic weave. Vocals are snarly and intensely spat out with elongated gargles and the combination of these and the music quickly gives a romantic and nostalgic vibe that is incredibly appealing. Keyboards canter off, drums boom and there is a classical edge to it all flowing amidst the more savage elements of the expertly handled orchestrations. This is seriously developed over the course of the album with long flowing instrumental passages illustrating that its roots spread back to the classical composers of old as much as those who developed and honed the sound of black metal. As ‘Nature Of The Spirit’ illustrates, one second you could be fist pumping to a hefty death belch and the next caught up in an absolutely fantastic keyboard sonata.

Tracks are just the right length at between 7-8 minutes each with plenty going on in them. They are not over-indulgent in the slightest and develop brilliantly, drawing the listener into their depths. The one exception to this is an interlude ‘Mists Of Oneiros’ which is a shorter instrumental piece focussing just on the keyboard piano signature. Some may find this a bit too much of a distraction but others may like to focus on this aspect as it stands alone rather than in the midst of a song such as the preceding dark and fantastical symphonaire diabolus ‘Mephistophelean Liaison.’

At times this is a bit of a fever dream of an album and leaves you drenched in atmosphere as songs like ‘Old Crone’ delivers a grizzly fantasia of the senses like a very dark fable. It’s not all cautionary fables though. Some go straight for the throat such as the final part ‘Banishment’ which flies out the traps with absolute fury behind it before settling into a rousing and passionate finale.

The melodicism on this album really is second to none and if you like symphonic black metal that takes inspiration from classical music this one really is a no-brainer. Of course, listening to it won’t damage your health either, in fact this has been just the tonic I needed!

(8.5/10 Pete Woods)

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https://pestilenthex.bandcamp.com/album/the-ashen-abhorrence-2