New CDs

OK, so I misplaced these CDs, found it like 10min ago...

• Mike Stern: All Over the Place
• Deathspell Omega: Drought

Deathspell Omega: Paracletus

Some say Deathspell Omega is peerless; no other bands come close to what this band does for black metal. That's honest reverence for a group of musicians who don't take pride in telling the world who they really are. That's quite a shame because they are exceptional in their own right, the drummer especially but being mysterious this way is highly respectable. You choose to be selfless & let the music do the talking; definitely what I'd do for this music genre (if given the chance, of course).

Paracletus is a fusion of Fas- Ite's intelligent aggression & Si Monumentum's calculated phrasing (check out these prior releases if you have not). It's another artistic interpretation of black metal, taking the genre's formlessness into twisted control. The guitars here did not oblige to regurgitate the grinding low end of everyone else's black metal, in fact, the tone sounds fried but it's the correct depravity for this music. Deathspell Omega bends music at will. Listen to Pracletus.

Deatspell Omega: Chaining the Katechon

My first purchase for '09 is Deathspell Omega's Chaining the Katechon; it's a one song EP lasting 22min- definitely not for the impatient.

I'm a keen fan of this French black metal outfit; the band keeps a very mysterious profile yet the music remains very commanding & ahead of the times. Chaining is a typical DO song, with lots of guitar dabbling, nothing too elitist in tone but the arrangement here is worthy of exaltation. While the change in pace to address the various phase of the track isn't exactly original, the band's conviction for the music genre remains clear- uncompromising.