Album Review: Cult of Erinyes – Metempsychosis (Amor Fati Productions)

Belgian Black Metal band, Cult of Erinyes, return with their fifth studio album titled Metempsychosis, set for release on the 24th of May via Amor Fati Productions.

Formed back in 2009 in Brussels, Cult of Erinyes, have had a strong career and have built up a dedicated following through the quality of their output. There has been a long wait for fans for this 5th album, Metempsychosis, though . It comes 5 years after their last album, Æstivation where in the previous 10 years, Cult of Erinyes delivered 4 albums, 3 EPs and a split. They are back, with Metempsychosis due to be released on CD and vinyl LP formats at the end of May.

Metempsychosis is a conceptual album based on the delirium and the introspection one can live in front of Death. It contains just two tracks, or two pieces/passages might be fairer, but still clocks in with more than 43 minutes of relentless darkness as Cult of Erinyes look to make a statement that will resonate throughout all generations. Self described as having “Vicious leads, perfect dissonance, blast beats and an inspired vocal performance that comes together in the darkest of atmospheres and complex compositions”, Cult of Erinyes deliver a mix from violent black metal to “noir ambient,” that will bring you to the brink of Death and beyond.

Cult of Erinyes is founder Corvus on guitars, bass and keys, Déhà on vocals, Algol on bass and Baron on lead guitars. Drums come from guest artist, Ahephaïm of the band Sabathan and Spectral Damnation.

Like I said above, Metempsychosis is just two passages long but weighs in at an impressive 43 plus minutes in total length. The opening chapter of this story is titled Death and the Voyage, a 22 and a half minute long beast of black metal. With songs as long as this, it goes without saying that they travel through many different phases and dimensions – they have to. Imagine of this was just 22 minutes of blast beats – as much as we all love a blast beat, you would get bored. So, Death and the Voyage is a voyage. A dark, horrific and heavy as hell voyage – but still a voyage.

Distortion fades the track in before a devilish roar brings the riffs in with power and aggression. It’s so dark and dissonant at the start, it’s almost a bit too much. The vocals are bedded firmly into the fast drums and blasting guitars creating a sound straight from the mouth of hell. Vocals are horrific and use a mix of tones but all of them are ghastly in the best way. As it becomes almost too much, a sudden blast of lead guitar pulls you back from the brink, just enough to allow you to continue walking forwards. The guitar fades back though to continue the powerful and possessing assault with a new wave of drum and guitar attack.

The vocals are so bedded into the mix it almost feels like a singular stream of music and did I mention its hellish and heavy? The darkness also pours through from the use of a strong backing atmospherics, just gently, at certain points, but it adds to the sound well. The drums are really cool, and even in the midst of music as black as this, it means we get periods of groove and beat that will have you pause sacrificing your goat to head bang a bit.

Damn this is good – the lead guitars scream back into the mix and the vocals pick up a dark choir vibe. We move on through phases where the intensity drops a little and the vocals turn to a spoken word/shout but be warned, that heralds a passage that takes dissonance to a new level as a cacophony of chaos erupts in your ears.

Menacing melodic moments give respite but that is usually short lived, allowing you just a moment of introspection before a full on blackened assault comes and rips you to shreds. The changes in pace, changes in vocal tone, the sudden arrival, or disappearing of the screaming leads – it’s all so mesmerising and engaging. I’m such a fan of the lead guitar work as well. I love that higher lead sitting atop such dark and intense black metal and each solo seems to fit so well, it shows masterful song writing skills. I really didn’t notice the 22 minutes pass and it was only in the last 2 minutes, as the song starts to fade out in a nauseating atmospheric and distortion section, that I took time to reflect back on how hypnotised I had become throughout that.

Eternity in a Second carries on where the opener left off, this time with just over 21 minutes of majestic horror to get stuck in to. I’m not going to write as much as I usually do here because the same sound, style and power comes through as on the first track. Suffice to say that Cult of Erinyes deliver a second part that is as dark, as brutal and as mesmerising as the first. A song of brutal blackness that will absolute crush you and push you toward the brink, before dropping either a change up in vocal tone, or beat or lead guitars that pulls you back. Menacing slow downs add threat, as well as an opportunity to breath, often then followed by violent and intense explosions of anarchy.

A song, that like it’s counterparts, is so engrossing, so involving and constantly changing, so that the 21 minutes passes in seconds and you are left just feeling a little breathless and relieved that you survived the onslaught as it fades out near it’s close. That almost distorted and dissonant fade out made me think of the song like I had accidentally tuned by radio on and captured a transmission from the gates of hell, which maybe does as good a job as any of describing the intensity on display here.

Heavy and black as fuck, Cult of Erinyes have not delivered metal for the faint of heart or for newcomers, getting into the scene. This feels like black metal for seasoned veterans. Despite all of my remarks though on how brutal, how intense, how terrifying the sounds of Metempsychosis is, it is astonishingly mesmerising. It’s quite a beautiful album, in that dark and horrific beauty kind of way. The intelligence within each passage and within sections of each song is second to none. Constantly changing and evolving, pulling your emotions in different directions, pushing you towards the edge, pulling you back then pushing you over the edge – it feels poignant and powerful, intensely atmospheric and is a seriously impressive release from a band that have a wealth of experience and may have reached the pinnacle here.

Cult of Erinyes Links

Facebook – Bandcamp – Soundcloud – Apple Music – Amor Fati Productions