I'm a rather casual black metal fan. There's some great stuff out there, sure, but kvlt kiddies are so obsessed with image, attitude and sundry other issues unrelated to music that you can't entirely trust their judgment. ("Transilvanian Hunger," for example, is unquestionably the worst purportedly great metal album I've ever heard.) Even worse, I'm more inclined towards atmospheric, epic USBM (Weakling, Leviathan, Wolves in the Throne Room, Krallice) than to the supposedly prime Scandinavian material. So my credibility is nonexistent. However, if there were more bands like France's Deathspell Omega, I would have to buy myself some white grease paint and a battleaxe. This is simply remarkable material, and I can think of few bands that I've been so exhilarated to discover in the past few years. Any fan of technical or progressive metal would be remiss to ignore DsO regardless of their thoughts on black metal generally. This is still black metal, I would say, but it's black metal unlike any you've heard before.
DsO were once a typical, primitive BM band, but with the last few releases this intentionally mysterious collective evolved dramatically. "Fas -- Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum" could roughly be described as technical, brutal, epic and atmospheric black metal. While the shrieking tremolo riffs that define BM are in evidence, DsO have set their sights higher, drawing in tech-death stylings, including careening, seemingly formless riffs, Gorguts-esque dissonance and some of the most unhinged drumming ever recorded. Moreover, while traditionalist black metal often thrives on repetition, DsO effortlessly alternate between myriad riffs and atmospheric breaks, constructing dense, unified epics and wholly avoiding the unstructured feel that mars much extreme metal. DsO now work almost entirely in epics, but the format never seems forced, and they allow a conceptual unity that is, again, rare in extreme metal. (Though divided into different tracks, "Fas" is a sufficiently cohesive that it should be listened to in its entirety if possible.)
Apart from the atmospheric "Obombration" tracks that bookend the album, "Fas" consists of 4 central tracks spanning approximately 40 minutes. "The Shrine of Mad Laughter" is a mercilessly brutal first movement that sets the tone for the album, showcasing the flailing, howling riffs, endless blastbeats and cascading toms. (You know it's a vicious track when the dissonant, odd-time break comes as a relief.) The metallic sections (sometimes a blur, sometimes off-kilter) are unrelentingly intense, but often buttressed by synths and squalling, atonal leads that add color and variety. Conversely, the atmospheric breaks sometimes seem somewhat random, but they always generate an appropriately malevolent feel. DsO even give the listener the occasional taste of melody (the sorrowful, piercing guitar lines concluding "A Chore for the Lost" and near the middle of "Bread of Bitterness"), but these moments are quickly swallowed in the maelstrom. The songwriting is sufficiently dense that the tracks are not overly differentiated, but this is an effect of their variety rather than of monotony: each track spans so many varying riffs and sections that they're difficult to label. Nevertheless, the fearsomely bleak tone is maintained throughout, connecting it all.
It is the sense of wholeness that makes "Fas" so unique. Again, so many have had difficulty injecting real songwriting into extreme metal, and DsO have put virtually all other attempts to shame. This unity extends beyond the actual music to the gorgeous, well-thought out artwork and surprisingly artistic lyrics. (Such issues rarely interest me at all, and it's a testament to their quality that I even notice them at all.)
Needless to say, this is not an accessible album, and even repeated listens may not reward you with a full sense of the structure. It is however, invariably striking, and most extreme metal fans will likely go away from the first listen impressed, even if they can't entirely recall what they just heard. This is my ideal tech/progressive effect: memorable enough to draw me from the first listen, but deep enough that it rewards numerous careful examinations. Even better, DsO are clearly now just hitting their stride, so we can likely look forward to more remarkable work from them.
Highly recommended.