Artist......: Veter Daemonaz
Album.......: Muse of the Damned
Year........: 2022

Genre.......: Black Metal
Label.......: Osmose Productions
Cat.No......:

Source......: WEB (24bit)
Encoder.....: libFLAC
Quality.....: 1531kbps avg. / 44.1kHz / 2 channels

Playtime....: 00:42:26  (519.90MB)
R.date......: 2023-01-09
S.date......: 2022-06-24

Website.....: http://open.qobuz.com/album/dvq3efry8f7zb

Disc 1 / 1

01. Muse of the Damned Part I                                        4:33
02. Under the Banners of Night                                       6:12
03. The Conqueror's Crown                                            6:36
04. Twilight                                                         4:08
05. Moon Sorcery                                                     5:49
06. The Sun into the Kingdom of the Blind                            4:25
07. The Thread                                                       5:29
08. Muse of the Damned Part II                                       5:14

A night-bound mirage borne from fading internal light and the suffocating
flurries of the northern extremes St. Petersburg, Russia-borne black metal
trio Veter Daemonaz have spent over a decade honing their own clearest
windowpane into the world of elite black metal in leading up to this debut
full-length release. Built upon traditions of tragedian expression deeply
ingrained within classic Slavic black metal style ‘Muse of the Damned‘
manages something readably regional yet avoidant of typified trappings by
distinct enough channels dug by their own will. Though a cursory ride
through first impressions may not yield something “new” outside of
tradition we are yet graced with an experience brimming with cold, pensive
character of its own when afforded an attentive listener — the righteous
calling card of a group who’d put in their dues, needled over a greater
vision before finally landing their grand entrance.

Veter Daemonaz set into motion as a solo venture circa 2009, taking their
time in development of basal songcraft with consideration for all four
moving parts being handled by I.S.M. whom managed a fantastically raw three
song demo (‘MMX‘, 2013) that’d made it to CD-r a couple years beyond
completion. The momentum was slow from that point yet the results always
thoughtful as the artist was clearly working towards a high standard rather
than rushing in, carving their own point of view rather than plainly
imitating the classics of raw Russian/Slavic black metal. As far as I have
gathered a crew of three would form in 2014 and soon get to work on their
first official release, which ended up landing on a split LP (‘Vade Retro
Sonnenlicht‘, 2015). Their first non-split related EP (‘???v??‘, 2017) had
developed their sound considerably, shifting toward what I’d read as
heavily influenced by the late 90’s output of Blazebirth Hall (or similar)
groups, specifically Forest but also the first few Old Wainds releases
around that same time for the sake of the abrasive yet beauteous phrasing
of those guitarists. The only real point of genius on that release for my
own taste was the final piece (“Trivmph”) for its grand sense of movement,
setting it apart from the rest of their songwriting at that point.

That’d been the end of their original line-up with I.S.M. re-staffing the
rhythm section with members of Doomsday Cult and Serpentrance and quickly
moving on with them, soon releasing three key items in the build-up towards
their debut. The first impression Veter Daemonaz made upon me couldn’t have
been more ideal between their ‘?????????‘ 7" via destructive Polish label
Putrid Cult and their contribution to a Katharsis tribute album “Lunar
Castles (Harvest)“. Between those two releases they’d made a serious case
for more as their sound began to shift towards something Mgla-esque in its
gravel toned pulse on a split with Lashblood beyond that point. If some
thoughtful development of a majestic Slavic black metal sound was all
there’d been to enjoy here that’d probably been enough to impress me, in
case you need an idea of where I stand with this style of music in general.
In fact I think that’ll be all many folks will need to enjoy ‘Muse of the
Damned‘ as a debut, though I believe there is more than typically
satisfying style notes and a “promising” showing to appreciate here once
we’ve gotten waist deep in their gusting, steadily kicking motions.

Veter Daemonaz haven’t simply crapped out a handful of soppy majestic-core
variations on a theme but it will probably feel like it as you dive in and
begin to parse the voicing of the guitar work versus the brutality of the
rhythm section and vocals. In this sense the experience as a whole has
implied itself by the time we’ve leaned into the sentimental groaning of
the appreciably melodic rhythm guitar work on “The Conqueror’s Crown” but
this comes as an early highlight, not yet fully extrapolating where exactly
the record will go from that point of snow-drifting, beauteous ode to
Death. I say this because the pivotal piece which bisects the album,
“Triumph”, is an jangly instrumental with a wintry heavy metal dance at its
peak, providing the first of a few unexpected and perhaps characteristic
moments that set I.S.M.‘s vision apart from the usual tact and emotionally
driven craft we find in upper-grade Slavic black metal.

Though I didn’t find the typically featured point of the second track
(“Under the Banners of Night”) in the running order evocative beyond its
steadily aggressive pace and easier-grooving refrains to start, the piece
does serve to set overall expectations for riffcraft and the guitarist’s
intended dynamic within the rhythmic focus of ‘Muse of the Damned‘. The
flit between emotive voice and droning world-shaper is deliberate when said
transition does happen and this means a full listen to this record lands
somewhere between sophistication and a more distempered aggression. With
that said I found the ‘over the top’ aspect which I’d appreciated from
their earlier works and a really fine treatment of Katharsis a few years
back wasn’t necessarily pushing into raw and crazed realms here, this makes
for a professional and readable result nonetheless.

Closing Side A with a certain bass riff/melody in mind and having it
exploded into form at the outset of Side B with lead single (shorter
version in preview, though) “Moon Sorcery” waking the experience into a
more frenzied state of expression at a crucial point in the full listen. At
this point you’ll have noticed the strong bass guitar tone, loud enough to
prominently back the rhythms with a slightly percussive thump to its
heavier hits yet not so destructive that it overtakes the drummer’s
presence, this is key as Veter Daemonaz lean into the slower, despondent
sections of certain songs but still allows both the sentimental and chaotic
stretches of their sound to land in focus. I personally enjoy the more
aggressive, plodding spectrum of their tempo map, which we find on the
venomous “The Sun into the Kingdom of the Blind” which I’d found to be the
aggressive peak statement of the album, though the guitar work receives
another adept melodic touch within “The Thread” before it ends. Bookending
the listening experience with the first and second parts of “The Muse of
the Damned” doesn’t generate a too-obvious motif, since that’d be somewhat
redundant if you’d been listening on repeat but we are phased in and out of
the Nordic wilderness at the starting and endpoint of the full listen, a
simple way to generate atmosphere which feels experiential and suggests the
listener reflects as the final silence settles in.

There is some manner of turmoil, or, internalized rot expulsed in the
events of ‘Muse of the Damned‘ which I cannot fully comment on ’til I’ve
gotten ahold of the lyrics and this is actually a pretty key component of
I.S.M.‘s work based on past releases so, there remains plenty to glean from
the experience beyond the enjoyable, oft inventive full listen herein.
Though I’ve zero qualms with the production values and general sound
design, and besides the whole point to be made about this being an
unexpectedly thoughtful and melodic work rather than an insane wracking of
the ear as expected, Veter Daemonaz have left me feeling like they’re not
exactly done with the statement of this work, that there is more to divulge
on future releases. The major point to make here in appreciation of ‘Muse
of the Damned‘ is that this was the exact right point in the band’s
development beyond 2017 to make their full-length debut, as it is clear
they’d had to fight it out a bit to get there and have had plenty of time
and thought put into crafting a work that leaves a considerable dent within
both the physical and spiritual being. It isn’t catchy or quirky pop metal
in any sense, and that means you won’t be humming these complex rhythms to
yourself anytime soon, but the fixation of the full listen has yet held up
brilliantly on my part. A high recommendation.

-grizzlybutts