Review: Deathspell Omega - Paracletus

For many, orthodox black metal cliché has become too much; Basement dwellers in corpse paint thrashing at top speed with the fire and fury of hell. As the genre developed, bands stopped beating away at the barriers of social acceptability and musical innovation, and instead, started beating a dead horse. Minimalist blasting over treble picked diminished fifths can only be rewritten so many times, but that doesn't seem to stop anybody from trying. For a genre that once existed on the outer limits of extremity, its edge has dulled considerably. Sure its members still possess the same misanthropic elitism and overwhelming pretension. Sure, they still draw upon Christian images and ideas to paint their portrait of Satan, but the fear and foreboding are gone, the challenging, genre-bending musical structures have morphed into rigidly controlled definitional barriers.  To venture beyond these walls is to renounce your "kvlt" status and join the “trend scum” who pollute black metal purity. Many bands in the foggy realm of black metal who have left the walls behind, have also left behind Satanism, leaving the epitome of fear and darkness to languish in the tired triteness of the “tr00.”

Enter Deathspell Omega. At one time an embodiment of black metal pastiche, their previous two releases, Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice, Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum and now Paracletus, the crown jewel of the DsO catalogue, have combined to construct a trilogy that obliterates the rigid walls of orthodox black metal, unleashing the beast, and teaching us once again what it is to hate, to fear, and to suffer.

On first listen, Paracletus is a violent cacophony, contorting rhythms, melodies, and time signatures with painful urgency and focus. Yet the contortions transcend music and become almost visceral, as if Satan himself sought to experiment with the limits of humanity. How far can the human body bend? How much can the human mind bear? A hurricane of splintering dissonance swirls as jagged, sputtering drums beat relentlessly, keeping time in some otherworldly march. Angular guitar riffs wind harshly around spastic bass lines. The vocal performance borders on the inhuman as DsO executes shrieks of terror and pain, wails of sorrow and agony, and guttural fits of spitting blasphemy. Its torturous and frighteningly real.  Paracletus is ugly, covered with filth, and completely uncompromising. Most of all though, Paracletus is terrifying. Ominous voice overs, chants, shrieks and screams juxtaposed against the clanking and jerking of wicked instruments force the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end while DsO's signature arpeggios, chromatic melodies, and unexpected, almost random snare drum cracks create an atmosphere of unease. Nothing about Paracletus is comfortable or familiar. Rather, Paracletus offers 42 minutes of turbulence and terror.

Yet, on subsequent listens, Paracletus reveals its immense depth. Sprinkled throughout the albums are moments of  beautifully crafted haunting. "Epiklesis I and II", "Dearth", and Paracletus's utterly brilliant closer, "Apokatastasis Panton", feature astounding grace. The dissonance rolls harmoniously in innovative patterns, while melodies float atop with simplicity and elegance. Even the brashest of tracks ("Phosphene", "Wings of Predation", "Abscission", "Malcontent") feature thoughtfully composed melodies and harmonies. Amidst the overwhelming ugliness and terror, Paracletus is beautiful and fascinating, a reflection of DsO's view that beauty exists in suffering. Beneath the apparent chaos are a rich and innovative musical structures as well as a slew of unbelievable feats in musicianship. I have no doubt Paracletus was as difficult to compose and perform as it is to listen to and unpack.

On the production end, Paracletus is completely sterile. Cleanly compressed and masterfully mixed, every dissonant note, every grunt, and every cymbal crash is noticeably clear without sounding artificial. , Paracletus demonstrates that evil doesn't have to sound "necro," and power doesn't have to result from over compression and unnecessary EQ boosts.

While Paracletus deserves its musical accolades, one must not forget that this album, and the entire trilogy for that matter, is religious music. It is Satanism's Sei Gegrüsset.  Overflowing with symbolism, largely extracted from Christian ideology, DsO wrestles with their interpretation of a metaphysical Satan. As such, the entire presentation reeks of unbearable pretension. The lyrics are an amalgam of Greek, Latin, French and English cobbled together in deeply coded and often unintelligible metaphors. The imagery is vivid, if not overly so. Despite its confounding nature and pretension, its hard not to be intrigued by DsO's zealous fanaticism, and the ideology which drives them to innovate and create in such unique ways.

Paracletus has proved that the boundaries of black metal have yet to ossify. Rather, they can and should be pushed, and when they are, black metal can still terrify and haunt. It can transcend the cliche and pastiche that have led to years of stagnation. The blunted blade of black metal has been sharpened, and Deathspell Omega wield it with the skill and ferocity to make it dangerous once again.

Final Score: 96/100

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-Mike Lang