siLLy puPPy DE MAGIA VETERUM has been just one of the many aliases of Dutch metal mastermind Maurice “Mories” de Jong who has racked up a long list of alter egos each with its own musical canon including Astral, Black Mouth of Spite, Caput Mortuum, Cloak of Altering, Dimlit Hate Cellar, Gnaw Their Tongues, Golden Ashes, Hagetisse, Mories, Offerbeest, Ophiuchus, Pyriphlegethon, Seirom, The Sombre and Temple of Will. Not to mention his many collaborations with others in bands like The Nefarious Cult and Obscuring Veil.

Despite its all perhaps the most restless and avant-garde of de Jong’s metal madness comes in his project known as DE MAGIA VETERUM and the album SPIKES THROUGH EYES was the debut released as a CD-R in 2005 however just to make things more complicated the album was re-released under the title VERUS DIUINUS MAGUS in 2008 and then back SPIKES THROUGH EYES for the 2009 digital file release! OMG, what’s this dude smoking? :D

The original SPIKES THROUGH EYES hosted six tracks which clocked in shy of 29 minutes but the VERUS DIUINUS MAGUS version adds two bonus tracks bringing the playing time up to just shy of 40 minutes! Hell fucking yeah! This is a one-man band all the way with Mories playing guitar, bass, drums, keyboards as well as screaming his ass off. VERUS (as i will refer to this album since i’m reviewing the extended version with nine tracks) is based in extremely brutal black metal with fast tempos but also incorporates symphonic elements as well as avant-garde weirdness that takes the listener on one of the wildest and most unpredictable black metal experiences this side of Hades.

While the rampaging black metal moments will swear you are listening to Darkthrone on speed, the non-metal moments bring out true eerie soundtrack features that sound like haunted houses and other creepy sound textures where the synthesizers are let loose like rabid bats at grandma’s bingo gathering where all hell breaks loose. There are also moments of quiet dungeon synth and ambient chill outs but what stands out most are how the brutal black metal guitar riffs are juxtaposed with the energetic synth runs that craft a diabolical sounding counterpoint. While the black metal is expressed in the furor and distortion tones, there are also classic metal guitar solos and some angular moments of über-weirdness but for the most part this is like tripping on some drug while traversing some sort of darkened Goth rave with a black metal band following you wherever you try to run and hide!

There are also some sound samples here and there especially from some of those Halloween samplers. There’s no difference really between the original SPIKES and the bonus tracks of VERUS. In fact for some reason the Bandcamp version of VERUS has still two more bonus tracks bringing the total up to 10! Basically this is some of the most spastic over-the-top black metal you can possibly experience. There is a dramatic exuberance here that keeps this album flapping around aimlessly like a downed power line falling into a salt bath. It’s just crazy as fuck and the unpredictability of it is definitely part of the charm.

Think of early Summoning before the dungeon synth sophomore album only on methamphetamines and no real direction at all. The music is for the most part rampaging on extremely fast tempos with only a few moments of downtime to catch your breath. The use of synths is highly creative and unlike any other black metal albums i’ve heard. This is highly recommended for those who love adventurous hairpin turn extreme metal that takes a cue from math rock and turns everything up to 11 and beyond. Add a few piano rolls, a bunch of freaky special effects and you have a bonafide nutter on the loose! Heh, love it!

bartosso All hail Transcendental Creations!

I may be wrong, but the long and passionate journey to the absolute chaos that De Magia Veterum set out on, seems to have started here, in Migdal Bavel. While still black metal at its core, it's his first album to be so concept-driven and consistent in its exploration of black metal-based polyphony. I'd even venture to say, that multiple references to both Ophiuchus/Cloak of Altering and the notorious colossus of noisiness and ambient horror, Gnaw Their Tongues, are to be found here.

To those who are not familiar with the aforementioned output of Maurice de Jong, the mastermind behind countless experimental projects and obscure musical ventures, I hasten to explain what we are dealing with here. Migdal Bavel is an experimental black metal album that would probably ring a bell in Blut Aus Nord, Deathspell Omega and Dødheimsgard fans' heads. Much noisier and vicious than any of the above, it is a much tougher listen, though. If you're not careful, if you approach the record with your guard down, it is going to trample your ears with a whirlwind of noisy, insane riffing, polyphonic tonal/atonal passages and seemingly random tempo changes, all that wrapped in some diabolically raw production that will make you despise all of what you've just heard... If you approach it with an open mind and actually give it a chance, though, you'll experience one of the most adventurous and soul-stirring black metal albums out there.

Brilliant and overlooked gem from the vast collection of overlooked gems - that's a way to sum things up with Mories. To those who know him, Mories is one of the greatest underground composers and one of the most prolific experimental metal/ambient creators out there. Migdal Bavel certainly is a great introduction to his twisted mind - it will prepare you for what's to come if you delve deeper.

bartosso Eradication of Self

I hereby announce that Maurice "Mories" de Jong is a warped god of madness, instilling awe and terror alike in all those who dare venture into his realm. And let's get one thing straight, it doesn't get more intense than this. Trust me, I've heard my fair share of crazy stuff. If anything compares, it can only be Merzbow or another Mories' project like Gnaw Their Tongues, Cloak of Altering or Aderlating. There is, however, something utterly fascinating about this abyssal poetry, and despite its painfully cathartic impact on my psyche, I keep listening.

The fourth album by De Magia Veterum is another experimental black metal journey through the realm of unfathomable darkness. Ear-splitting production underlies discordant glissandi and sonic outbursts of soul-stirring madness, but wait, there's more! With sinister sampling and breakneck rhythm patterns, Mories intensifies this, already extreme, experience. The Deification is in many ways a blend of Migdal Bavel and The Divine Antithesis. It's dense and soulful as the former and dissonantly chaotic as the latter. And there's also what's always been setting Mories apart from other fairly similar artists like Deathspell Omega and Blut aus Nord. I'm not trying to belittle their status in any way, but unlike De Magia Veterum, you can still follow their reasoning. Here, it all sounds as if it already existed as some boiling plasma within the creator's subconscious, and he simply converted it into sounds no man could normally conceive. Despite being consistent and meaningful, the notion of structured chaos doesn't really apply here. Structured chaos is liable to deconstruction and analysis. The Deification is rather a poetic depiction of chaos as it really is.

In many ways, this is a masterpiece and an unbearable sonic assault at the same time. Let's just say it's a great addition to your metal collection as it may expand your horizons to the extent you would never imagine possible. Remember though, no matter what kind of extreme music style you're a fan of, De Magia Veterum may be just too much for you, or something you will love with a bizarre, ravaging affection.

bartosso Enthralling

De Magia Veterum is just one of numerous projects spawned by the twisted éminence grise of experimental black metal, Mories. He must be a very busy man. As the mastermind of Gnaw Their Tongues, Aderlating, Cloak of Altering, Seirom and countless other projects, he became an incarnation of organized chaos, abyss explorer and prophet of misanthropy rolled into one. To our delight, he released IN CONSPECTU DIVINAE MAJESTATIS for free on his bandcamp page, where all of his countless projects are available under a single banner. Does it mean he doesn't hate people as much as it seems. Well, I doubt it.

Mories' deep fascination with noise and ambient is well noticeable in the EP(and all other DMV's albums, for that matter). Unlike Gnaw Their Tongues or Seirom, De Magia Veterum is first and foremost a black metal project. There's no place for brooding ambient intros or psychedelic interludes. Sound is oppressive, muddy and painfully coarse, abusing your ear drums with overpowering wall of distortion, frantic drums and rasping shrieks - doing it from the very beginning. The sound is surprisingly sharp and selective, though, which is another proof of Mories' unparalleled talent for sound production.

Compared to MIGDAL BAVEL(previous release from De Magia Veterum), more emphasis was put on structured chaos and extended passages of dissonant riffs. MIGDAL BAVEL seems to be more straightforwardly atmospheric and monolithic yet also more unrelenting, both composition and sound-wise. Consequently, IN CONSPECTU DIVINAE MAJESTATIS reminds me a bit of Deathspell Omega, although this one is even more daring, demanding and experimental. Furthermore, the ambiance created by Mories is more diverse, therefore being harder to define.

What would all that be without a human element, though? Now, that's the point. Mories managed to put so much emotion into that record, so much passion boils within this outburst of chaos, that I'm absolutely sure no one could do it better. Do not hesitate, download it while it's still available.

UMUR "In Conspectu Divinae Majestatis" is an EP release by Dutch experimental black metal act De Magia Veterum. The 4 track, 14:36 minute long EP was given free for download by the artist in September 2010. The material on the EP was originally recorded for a split release, but that project never materialized. De Magia Veterum is one of dutch one-man army, musician/ producer Mories projects. Besides De Magia Veterum, two of his most prominent projects are the noise act Aderlating and the experimental black/ noise/ drone act Gnaw Their Tongues. Mories output in the last 10 years have been significant, but he almost always delivers quality material.

The music on "In Conspectu Divinae Majestatis" is generally fast-paced blasting black metal with some really venemous, hatefilled and downright caustic raspy vocals in front. Well the vocals are actually mixed pretty low, so in front might be the wrong description here. The soundscape is layered, chaotic and dissonant. Not unlike the structured chaos of acts like Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord. De Magia Veterum is ultimately a different beast with a unique sound though and the 4 tracks on this EP fully demonstrate that. Even though the tracks are only about 3 to 4 minutes long, there are several sections in each track. The tracks are layered and full of details, which make them not only a really aggressive and chaotic listen, but also a very intriguing one. I´m absolutely breathtaken by the sheer compositional genious of Mories. Even in the midst of raw and noisy chaos he is able to incorporate atmospheric moments of stunning beauty and melancholy like in some of the sections in "Empire of Emptiness".

As on all Mories releases from any of his projects, the production plays a key role. Almost like an extra instrument. Mories is not only an excellent composer and musician, but his skills as a producer are also on a very high level.

I find it incredible that someone would offer up such a high quality release for free and I can highly recommend that people who are interested in the more chaotic experimental side of black metal check out "In Conspectu Divinae Majestatis". A 4 - 4.5 star rating is deserved. What a sweet deranged treat.