Minimal clues here: two 20 plus minute-long tracks, VI I and VI II, and a tongue twister of a band name. The band doesn’t appear to have released anything previously but I did establish that horrifying screams and a descent into an abyssal void are part of the entertainment that was about to unfold: creepy, oppressive black metal as it is described.

A sinister symphonic ring overlays the freezing cold black metal atmosphere that prevails. This is music from deep wastelands. The drums blast. Distant hissing, roars and screams can be heard like echoes in that aforementioned abyssal void. It’s stifling and merciless. The whole thing is like an icy hymn. It exudes discomfort and suffering. As the winds pass through the gaping void, a keyboard sound manifests itself manically. The fast black metal is raw. The sound becomes more stormy and violent. The guitar work adopts more feeling. Meanwhile the drums continue to blast and the echoing voice of suffering turns into a moan which is distorted by the howling wind. The 22 minutes of VI I is a dark and desolate and scary place, and there was never going to be any respite. Ending in lofty, epic tones it’s hard to see where this could have taken us to.

The sound of lapping waters and a veil of cosmic sound effects herald VI II. After three minutes of prolonged introduction, explosive violence erupts and we’re back to the inhospitable world of VI I with a volley of merciless black metal storminess. The intensity is high. The musical progression is limited as we’re now used to the idea of this hostile environment and the searing black metal which encapsulates it. The flames continue to fan the winds. There is an air of tragedy but the overriding atmosphere is one of weighty adversity. The direction transforms slightly with a pounding forward drive, like a black metal army going to war. The hissing, haunting, echoing roar accompanies the wall of noise, which explodes outwardly. The fiery blast abates only for a few seconds before we are cast once more into the eye of the hurricane before it tails off and takes us back to the bubbling cauldron that it began with.

This is an album of unrelenting black metal intensity. I like the passion and the turbulence. Vampyroteuthis Infernalis is like spending 45 minutes in a violent storm. It’s impressive in its way but it’s case of hanging onto your hat rather than engaging with a colourful musical adventure, good as the sound and technical quality are.

(7/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/vampyroteuthis-infernalis