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Released on January 13, 2015 via Dark Descent Records
I was initially attracted to the third album by Finnish death metal act Desolate Shrine because of its artwork. In fact, I saw it before I even knew who they were or what they did, and took The Heart of the Netherworld on for review purely on the basis of that striking cover image. It seems an odd thing to be drawn in by artwork, and I can’t quite remember the last time that happened, but thanks to that sleeve, I’ve been made aware of yet another metal record label, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else Colorado’s Dark Descent Records have to offer this year. Desolate Shrine have set the bar for 2015, but what does that mean?
What it means is that the follow-up to 2012’s The Sanctum of Human Darkness ensures that all involved will have a very good year. The band – made up of 3 individuals who only go by initials (M.T., R.S. and band leader L.L., the latter of whom assumes instrumental duties for the whole band in the studio, while the other two split vocals) – have made a record that’s well worth the long haul. If you happen to not have an hour to spare but want an idea of what the trio do, the 15-minute centrepiece ‘We Dawn Anew’ is an ideal place to start, built upon the foundations of unnerving ambience and minor-key piano that wouldn’t sound out of place in a horror film – both of which are soon blasted away by gutsy, stabbing guitars and pounding drums. The track crawls along at a glacial pace, with guttural vocals and a harsh wall of guitar-led noise trying to be heard over each other, resulting in a full-on aural assault.
Desolate Shrine don’t hold back, and The Heart of the Netherworld barely lets up over the course of its runtime; opening track ‘For the Devil and His Angels’ is merely the calm before the all-consuming storm, before ‘Black Fires of God’ comes crashing in with its blast-beat drumming and muscular riffs. Easy hooks are hard to come by – this is an album you give the whole of yourself to, or not at all. Accessibility isn’t an issue, though – volume and intensity make up for the lack of a chink in the Finnish trio’s pitch-black armour, and the almost nightmarish delivery of 6-minute rager ‘Leviathan’ will have the hairs on your neck standing on end no matter what. The more subtle moments are just as important, however, especially as there are black metal influences all over this thing, and most notably on the eponymously-titled ‘Desolate Shrine’, which lurches along in waltz time, flitting between scorching riffs and more meditative sections, providing a fine example of the band’s non-linear songwriting.
One section of a song will often be repurposed and appear elsewhere, in a different time signature, or with different instrumental colour, and things change often enough that you’ll feel compelled to keep listening just to find out what comes next, and you’ll more often than not be surprised, such as when the eponymously-titled track suddenly shifts gears into a surprisingly groove-laden 6/8 coda. It can feel a little overpowering at times (especially on the title track, which spends slightly less than half of its 13-minute running time bludgeoning the listener over the head with pulse-quickening intensity) but that’s typical of Desolate Shrine’s approach to making visceral metal. You’ll feel like you’ve run a marathon after The Heart of the Netherworld is over, but every track makes its mark, and there are some stellar highs to be found throughout, so don’t be surprised if you’re going in for another listen as soon as it’s over. If you like death metal with plenty of replay value, this is the album for you.
