Deathspell Omega – Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum – Chaining the Katechon (Anja Offensive)

Friday, 15th March 2013 By David E. Gehlke

Rating: 8.5/10

Fuckin’ reckless, man. That’s the new Deathspell Omega EP for ya. Shunning every idea that black metal is fully controlled entity, the Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum – Chaining the Katechon EP is a one-song 22-minute frenzy that is as experimental as they come and to top it off, the thing never comes to a head, it just jumps from idea to idea, through hoop to hoop. Really, this thing has sat in yours truly’s CD player for over a month and still no full understanding of it has been made.

By combining the ragey, cagey vibe of latter-day Mayhem (think Ordo Ad Chao) and the winding, totally free-form vibe of Negura Bunget, Deathspell Omega have only thickened their rather impressive scene-cred resume. A cascade of full-blown ideas develop at every turn (see: the spastic blast portion at 16:43) and when that comes to its climax, Deathspell pumps the brakes a little, unleashing an array of discordant, minor chord ramblings that are anything but irksome.

There’s no comfort level to be found here, something the band achieved on its landmark Fas Ite effort over a year ago. One of the most unconvential entities to emerge on the black metal scene, Deathspell Omega have played the black metal textbook to a T, leaving no stone unturned and keeping us on our toes, which is something more BM would be advised to do. Beyond mandatory for those who still seek some adventure in black metal.