Aosoth is another example of how great the current black metal scene in France actually is. With their latest full length, they definitely claim their place next to great bands like Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord. Formed by members of black metal titans Antaeus you get an idea of the quality of the music here.
The cold, eerie atmosphere kicks in straight away from the opening track of the album “An Arrow In Heart,” with its mid pace tempo approach but with the drums blasting away on the background it instantly captures your attention, by the way the tribal drums about six minutes in the track manage to build an almost ritualistic atmosphere making the sound even more haunting. But if what you prefer in you black metal is chaos, Aosoth once again does not disappoint. Soon enough “One With The Prince With A Thousand Enemies” frenzied guitar riffs will try to take your head off, something that almost becomes a reality when the black metal riffological typhoon of “Under Nails and Fingertips” and especially “Temple of Knowledge,” just listen to the start of the song to grasp the aggression that Aosoth is able to conjure here.
Short break with the two parts of “Broken Dialogue,” more so you can get a breather before you dive back into the void with probably the best track of this exceptional album: “Ritual Marks of Penitence,” with its almost ceremonial pace and the drone notes sounding more and more menacing as time passes, a fourteen minute opus full of spite and hatred enriched with the belligerence of black metal when the track reaches its peak, it is like a journey through darkness while you are trying desperately looking for a ray of light which is nowhere to be found.
So here it is: chaos, atmosphere, dissonance all wrapped around a black metal basis. Even though I absolutely loved Ashes of Angels and III: Violence and Variation, I think that IV: An Arrow In Heart is Aosoth’s best offering up until now. Let’s see if they can top this one, now that would be impressive.
You can also check the blasphemous (fuck yeah!! It’s black metal, right?) video for “Ritual Marks of Penitence” here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6jwsEPKXc
