Disolvo Animus - Aphesis (Own Label)
Heavy metal is forever. Period. But that's not to say we get bored with ourselves from time to time. Power metal seems naff until Blind Guardian releases a blinding record every few years or so. We largely ignore traditional NWOBHM until Iron Maiden drops some old school chops on us. We release a certain Norwegian neo-Nazi out of prison for arson and murder and people go apeshit with some kind of blind veneration for him. Disolvos Animus aren't bored with the spent-by-then late-90s second wave of black metal, even though the majority of metalheads are (save for one or two bands) and seem rather proud of that.
That's not to say that we shackle ourselves to trends when they emerge, yanking free once something new comes along only to slavishly begin the process once again. The current attention of black metal lies with the Franco-American "shoegaze" scene spearheaded by bands such as Alcest and Wolves in the Throne Room, championed by some website dedicated to veganism, if you can believe it. Which is fine. The music on this disc? Well...
Disolvo Animus' cuts, as much as they're competently put together feel too derivative and too dated to have any lasting resonance. The standout track Aphesis lays down soundscapes filled with grinding black metal standard chug and twisted squealing harmonies ala Behemoth and mid-period Dimmu Borgir around the time of Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (can you believe I pulled that title from memory?) and simply place them in a blender, repeating them throughout. The cartoon-horror piece Illumination drones ceaselessly in the coda as shrieks of "Illumination!" cry out. A blathering incantation echoes back to this tortured soul for what feels like half an hour, which simply grates on your tired ears.
That said, if I was in a demonic mood, I would most likely see these dudes down the pub if they ever played a show. I mean, not many bands can ape Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir in terms of cohesiveness; in that department, they really hit the mark. In lieu of the real thing it's a more than a fair deal. But there's little else that hits the spot here.
