Formed in the late 1990s, but with a remarkably svelte discography, Subliritum are a Norwegian black metal band in the mould of Emperor, Satyricon and Gorgoroth who deal in epic, progressive black metal that owes its allegiance to the grandeur of Emperor’s feted ‘Prometheus’ album. Featuring Vyl (Keep of Kalessian / Gorgoroth live) on drums as well as guest appearances from baltak, Vebjorn Moen and Stephen Carlson, ‘Downfall’ (only the band’s second full-length outing) is an ambitious and intriguing release and well worth exploring.
Opening with the subtle, multi-layered ‘death of a sun’, Subliritum begin as they mean to go on, with a progressively structured, blackened slab of heroic metal that challenges the senses with its ambitious composition and powerful production. Far removed from the raw black metal assault of Darkthrone, this is intricate and ornate, drawing as much on the demonic classic assault of Carl Orff as it does on Emperor and Satyricon. The guitars of Sverre Bernsren and Dag Leistad Muller are perfectly balanced in the mix, chugging away with real force one minute, spewing forth grandiose, harmonised solos the next, whilst Kristian Moen’s keyboards (he also play bass) add atmospheric flourishes without overpowering the metal core of the band’s sound. ‘Choir of blasphemy’ harks back to ‘volcano’ era Satyricon with its whirlwind guitars and Baroque progressions, and vocalist Jonas Moen growls convincingly, and yet with a surprising amount of clarity, over the band’s impressive articulations. It’s never less than steeped in extremity, yet there is an accessible edge to the bands work, wrought by the melodies that are central to even the heaviest passages of the music, and the result is an album that offers both the superficial adrenalin rush of furiously heavy metal and the deeper, more sustained pleasure that comes from discovering its deepest secrets via repeated listens. ‘Downfall of empathy’ opens with a brief drum roll from the obscenely talented Vyl before Sverre and Dag unleash hell via a series of technical, taut riffs that see both guitarists roaming their fret boards with aplomb. ‘Grotesque wars’ is a technical marvel that bears witness to the guitarists unleashing a barrage of complex, classically inspired riffs over Vyl’s effortlessly inventive drums. Once again, Krisitian utilises his keyboards well, keeping the elements subtle yet integral to the songs rich atmosphere and Jonas outdoes himself with a vocal performance of depth and substance.
In a more straightforward vein, although still operating far outside of the parameters that most bands feel comfortable with, ‘Managing evil’ is a devastating slab of frozen black metal with scything riffs, progressive interludes that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Dream Theater album and even a hint of opera. ‘Into the deep’ offers up wide-eyed orchestral flourishes and punishing riffs, recalling Dimmu Borgir’s grand approach whilst ‘dirt and stone’ is constructed with a fluid grace that is both audacious and breath taking. Final track ‘de mektige haller’ sees the band bow out having delivered some forty minutes of near flawless, epic metal and it is clear that the band are focused very clearly on quality over quantity when it comes to album writing. A gruelling test of stamina, it pits the raging wall of guitars against Vyl’s almost inhuman drumming, conjuring up a powerful, metallic tsunami of noise that devours everything in its path – a fitting end to the album really.
There are those who love their black metal raw, bloody and brutal who will find the ambitious, even grandiose structures of ‘Downfall’ not to their taste. For those, however, who believe that black metal is more of a concept than a proscriptive style, Subliritum come highly recommended. The production is impressively clear without being overwrought, the musical skills of the band sublime and the song writing on a par with that of Emperor. There is a devilishly complex element to Subliritum and yet, for all that the riffs are immense, multi-headed beasts, the music never lacks power or feels overly convoluted, which only goes to highlight the strength of the band’s musicianship. If you love latter day Emperor, Satyricon or Dimmu Borgir, then Subliritum are unquestionably for you, for ‘downfall’ is an intelligent, beautifully written artistic statement which stands tall in Battlegod productions’ already impressive roster.
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