By Jonny Bakes
It’s another attention-grabbing description that has caught my eye in the midst of the Über Rock bucket of delights today with the latest release from Coloradan black metallers Helleborous. This promises to be black metal for foraging and performing pagan sex rites, and it just so happens I have a date coming up so it’s the perfect time for this album. For the inevitable blackberry gathering of course…
Helleborus are named after a rose-like flower that also happens to be pretty poisonous, and I’d say that’s a pretty effective metaphor for the sound that they produced. It’s subtly melodic, bordering on symphonic but it absolutely oozes with evil passion that gives them that black metal vibe. They certainly aren’t your heavily distorted, constant blast beats, trve Norwegian black metal, instead they have more of a Dimmu Borgir aura about them which should appeal to a slightly wider audience. Saprophytic Divinations is the follow up to 2015’s well received debut release, The Carnal Sabbath, and as we frequently mention here at Uber Rock that sophomore release is often the real test for any band!
So, let’s start off with that album title, it sounds suitably cryptic and mystical for what we’re looking for from this release. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find that Saprophytes are fungi that obtain their nutrients from dead and decaying matter, so you’ve got yourself looking into the future through the veil of death and decay. Yep, suitably brutal for a black metal album that! And suitably brutal is the order of the day for the sound of this album too. Each track has fantastic melodic sections that are interspersed with heavy blast bleats to form the backdrop for some harsh vocals with dark lyrics. Unlike some other albums, the vocals may be harsh but they’re also clear and well produced – more like Mgla than Mayhem.
From the gentle easing in of album opener, ‘Celestial Grave’, Helleborous drag you through a dark mystical journey that ebbs and flows its way through the visions of darkness and decay with its frequent changes of pace and tone. Take the contrast between ‘Verum Fidei’ and ‘Devil’s Garden’ for example. ‘Verum Fidei’ is almost gentle in its mystical sounding guitar riffs that it lowers the defences leaving you completely open to the powerful section of spoken word which resembles a dark incantation or prayer that is guaranteed to leave a chill down your spine. Yet immediately following this, you have ‘Devil’s Garden’, which is in no way gentle whatsoever. Although this may start off fairly slow so that you think you’ve got away with it, as soon as the vocals kick in, it crashes down on you with its tidal wave of darkness.
I really enjoyed this album to the point where it might just sneak into my top albums of the year. This will appeal to fans of the likes of Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, and just black metal as a whole really. If you like your metal with a bit of blackness to it, then I would strongly suggest you give this one a spin. It’s dark and mysterious and is probably best served in a dark room with a couple of candles… what else you do while listening to it is entirely up to you!
‘Saprophytic Divinations’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
https://www.facebook.com/HelleborusBlack/
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