SMOHALLA — Tellur / Epitome (review)

SMOHALLA — Tellur / Epitome album cover Split · 2013 · Avant-garde Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
A deadly avant-garde black metal combo...

Genre: avant-garde black metal

Take two of the most interesting black metal acts on the more experimental black metal scene and put them on the same release. The result is this highly challenging, and rewarding, split.

The four Smohalla tracks are probably best described as avant-garde blackened death metal. The first track 'Sa voix transperce nos fos' goes in a more death metal direction, featuring both old school thrashy riffs and more technical overlaid guitar leads, while the second track 'La main d'Abel' features more black metal elements and may perhaps be described as a more accessible version of Deathspell Omega. What makes this track particularly interesting is the it features some quite Cynic-like guitar figures which have been wrapped in a black metal blanket so to speak. Ever the experimentalists, Smohalla go as far as featuring an electronica track on their side of the split in the form of 'O deluge' - but despair not, oh ye metalheads, we are dealing with a dark track which is more akin to Depeche Mode than, say, Aqua. And, well, I must say that, as electronic music goes 'O deluge' is very well put together, which even features a couple of dark ambient elements. At this point, the listener should also have been attuned to the electronic elements which characterize Smohalla's contributions to this split. On the epic 'Les passagers du vent', the French experimentalist return to the metal universe, combining heavy sludge with simple black thrash and, of course, the obligatory blastbeat-accompanied passages.

And, having been totally blown away by French avant-garde and experimental black metal, British mayhem awaits the listener in the form of Omega Centauri's three tracks.

Drawing on a more traditional black metal sound and with a rawer production, Omega Centauri nonetheless take an avant-garde approach on these three tracks, as evidenced by the use of dissonant overlaid guitars and generally spacey keyboards in 'Naissance', the heavy and almost alternative feel of 'Submission', and the general dark ambiance weirdness of 'Desuetude'.

If you are in the mood for a different black metal experience in the company of some of the more interesting acts on the experimental black metal scene, then do not hesitate to check out this split.
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