Band: Arkheth
Album: 12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches Brew
Released date: February 20th, 2018
Genre: Avant-garde Black Metal
Country: Australia
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Looking for a noteworthy new metal release? Perhaps an extreme metal record that lingers in the sphere of atmospheric black metal which then crosses the realm of avant-garde territory and added with some authentic acid rock weirdness? Well then, Arkheth‘s third full-length studio album “12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches Brew” is exactly the right album that you are seeking for. Coming straight out from a city in the central west region of New South Wales, Australia, Arkheth is a one-man black metal act run by ex-Eternal Dark drummer Tyraenos. Now, Arkheth used to have full band members for the last 17 years, but Tyraenos has taken over the project himself entirely in the course of putting together the band’s third studio material. He did have Glen Wholohan’s aid though, as the saxophone player gave assistance in providing layered execution of jazzy melodies during the making of “12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches Brew“.
One good thing about this album is that it does not just draw the attention of the typical psychedelic art lovers as it also houses a forty-one-minute long catchy dissonant black metal record which holds its own weird hint of psychedelically tripped out leads. Basically, the core of the record loiters in the domain of atmospheric black metal, but from time to time it navigates into a very experimental avant-garde bailiwick while fully embracing Tyraenos‘s rich layer of acid-fried creativity and tapping in some saccharine flamboyant saxophone playing. There is plenty of seething guitar leads and lots of helical keyboard work in here which helps in creating the eldritch undercurrent that the opus conveys.
Riffs from the guitar department are absolutely enthralling and hypnotizing as it sends the listeners into a spiral space of psychedelic madness. Another thing of beauty about the guitar area in this release is that other than the psychedelic edge that it does offer; it also has that cacophonous nature which cuts through a bent cosmos of atmospheric and avant-garde black metal landscape as the keyboard section lurks behind the background while producing its own haunting vibe. The combination of the guitar and keyboard passages had helped a lot in firmly establishing the evocative essence of the material as a whole.
The drum department of the album is mainly set in a mid-paced tempo, but it often goes to a pounding and sludgy beating; furthermore, it also stirs to fast-moving territories, as the hymns in the offering progress in changing its pulse. Tyraenos‘s vocal delivery is in a form of ghoulish black metal howls which in a fair and sensible way fits the demented and grim ambiance of the songs. Listeners will also dig the semi-polished production quality of “12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches Brew“. I love how the songs in here have that crystal clear sounding resonance, yet it still packs a punch of raw attitude and aggressiveness. The music it possessed is biting, even so, it retains vividness and a flexibility of melodic intonation that tolerates the band’s music to breathe. I would also like to address that in this offering Arkheth had created an atmosphere that is only equaled by a few metal acts these days.
To conclude my review of this indelible and evocative work of art, “12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches Brew” is an album worth the money purchasing and totally worth including in your extreme metal collection rack. This is an offering that extreme music aficionados would find easy to digest even with its combination of lengthy psychedelic weirdness and unearthly experimental state. It is a memorable metal release brewed by two dreadful hags in their cauldron of an acid-frenzied inventive black metal recipe as portrayed on the album’s artwork. All of the five hymns in here has their own way of catching the audiences’ attention and interest, but it’s tracks like ‘Dark Energy Equilibrium‘, ‘Where Nameless Ghouls Weep‘, and ‘A Place Under The Sun‘ that stands out the most. “12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches Brew” was released last February 20th of this year, so hurry and go get your own copy now while it’s still fresh.
Originally written for https://thepitofthedamned.blogspot.com
Rating: 6.6/10
Realm of Asmodeus 