Desecrated: Thus Begins the Suffering

Spectre (cool name dude!) is a solitary American multi-instrumentalist, who released his debut on Naturmacht Productions earlier this year. Yes, you are right; this is a black metal release. You are still right if you have guessed that it is a raw black metal disc, but you are wrong going about thinking this is pure rawness without any kind of atmosphere.

Thus Begins the Suffering is actually an atmospheric black metal opus filled with haunting melodies, painted with depressive hues. This type of music is more commonly heard from European countries than the States. Nonetheless, it does not take away from the goodness of it all. This album is not only done with the blast beats, so many moderate tempos are gracing this depressive piece of art. You'll get the distortion in the guitars, of course, as well as in Spetre's ghostly vocals, with impressive result. I just love this sound effect and it suits the black metal philosophy extremely well. The guitar work is not only distorted since cleaner leads and arpeggios are harmoniously embellishing the compositions in frequent occasions. The rawness is the result of a combination distortion and a somewhat discrete drumming, which was properly done without falling into the cardboard sound, thankfully.

Thus Begins the Suffering is a pleasantly depressive melancholic hymn of black metal that comes in with many very good compositions. Tracks like: "Drowning in Morose Solitude", "Dirge of Despair" and the title track are well worth mentioning.

Track listing:
1. ...Thus Begins The Suffering
2. Such Sorrow As To Elimate Life
3. Drowning In Morose Solitude
4. Dirge Of Dispair
5. His Holy Empire Reduced To Ashes
6. Chanting Incantations Bringing An End To Existence
7. Darkness Descends

Added: August 23rd 2010
Reviewer: Denis Brunelle
Score:
Related Link: Naturmacht Productions
Hits: 1787
Language: english

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