UMUR
This 2002 split release between the two French black metal acts Mütiilation and Deathspell Omega was originally released as a 10" Mini LP limited to 400 hand numbered copies.
Mütiilation is a one-man act featuring notorious drug addict Meyhna'ch (Willy Roussel). He is known for his membership of the infamous Les Legions Noires. A association of French satanic black metal acts which also featured the black metal acts Vlad Tepes, Belketre, Brenoritvrezorkre and Torgeist. He was kicked out of the association in 1996 alledgedly because of his problems with hard drugs. Meyhna'ch´s recording career started with the Rites Through the Twilight of Hell demo from 1992. His first official release was the 1994 EP Hail Satanas We Are The Black Legions while Mütiilation´s debut album Vampires of Black Imperial Blood was released in 1995. Mütiilation is still an active band having released the latest album called Sorrow Galaxies in 2007.
The mini LP consists of three songs. The first song is by Mütiilation and the two next songs are by Deathspell Omega. The total playing time is 21:35 minutes. The Mütiilation song Beyond The Decay Of Time And Flies is old school black metal and as I´m not particularly fond of that genre my interest is rather non existing. If you enjoy primitive and repetitive old school black metal this track may have your interest. The two Deathspell Omega songs Insanity Supreme and For Fire And Void Become One are much more accomplished and interesting IMO. Raw and aggressive black metal, but with some sophisticated details that means my attention can be held for the duration of those two songs. Some really dark atmospheres created by the choice of guitar notes and the raspy vocals really enhance my experience. There´s great promise here IMO.
The musicianship is good when talking about Deathspell Omega while Mütiilation isn´t something special. Meyhna'ch seems a bit sloppy to me.
The production on the Mütiilation song does not suit my taste. Too lo-fi. The sound quality on the two Deathspell Omega songs are much better but still rather lo-fi. Don´t expect a polished metal production here.
If you´re not a collector this release is rather superfluous as both Deathspell Omega tracks appear on the Manifestations 2000-2001 compilation album from 2008. This is not a bad release but definitely a collector´s item deserving a 2 star rating.