The Magus, veteran of the Greek black metal world and mastermind behind Necromantia, one of the finest pioneers of the Hellenic sound has finally made his solo debut.

Βυσσοδομώντας (Vissodomontas) is the Greek word for “building in the depths”, a title wholeheartedly fitting for this 55–minute album – but not for all the right reasons I am sorry to say. If an artist is a veteran of music, that does not immediately warrant their new work to be a good move and listening to Magus’s mix of traditional metal and the blackened sound that put him on the map, he sadly falls short.

I will admit, being a big follower of the Greek scene, my standards were high for this one and there were a few moments of crunching blast beats that had me feeling as happy as any Kawir album can do, but as things progress the audio become somewhat forgettable.

Having been mixed by the amazing George Emmanuel, Vissodomontas had all the right elements for a decent Hellenic metal outing but there was something amiss about the latter half of this release that missed the target. Boring is probably how I’d best describe it and I can only see fit to giving it a halfway rating as only half of it felt mastered.

Unfinished might be a bit harsh a term to use, but I can’t help thinking not everything was complete about what The Magus was trying to establish. Certainly the title of the album could be a foretelling of what could come from his mastermind in the future, but at present the depths are only holding the bare bones of the project. Hopefully in future this veteran will master his mix of old school metal and his homeland’s blackened wonderment to give us something of note, but for now we’re only half way there.

(5/10 Demitri Levantis)

https://www.facebook.com/themagus666

https://necromantiaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/vissodomontas