Skáphe - Skáphe2 (Fallen Empire)

Having read great things about these guys in several online publications I checked them online just out of curiosity, and I was surprised to find something quite different from what I expected (for some reason, I thought this would be on a more melodic side of things). Although seeing this was released by Fallen Empire, I shouldn't have had many doubts about neither the music nor the quality of it. Adding to it that the bands line-up is composed of two expertised musicians such as Alex Poole (Chaos Moon, Esoterica and since some years ago member of Krieg) and D.G. (Misþyrming, Nadra), could I expect anything bad or minimally interesting?

What Skaphe offer us on 'Skáphe²', their second LP, is an absolute maelstrom of chaos, darkness and insanity under the form of six quite long tracks of fully reverb induced Black Metal which doesn't go very far from what the Iceland scene has been showing us in the last times, although on an even most demented side of things. This means some hybrid between the most chilling and psychotic side of Black Metal, next to some prominent doses of an inexorable brutality that comes straight from the most suffocating extremes of Death Metal. With a preference for fast paced/fully blasting progressions, but still having a few very slow and surrounding moments. 

Indeed, the atmosphere of this record is extremely suffocating (I need to insist on this because it's the best way to describe it) and trance/nightmare inducing, sometimes even brainmelting-like, and the mix of very chaotic and brutal riffing and drumming, with the already mentioned high dose of reverb, results in a constantly increasing ball of hatred and obscurity,which still manages to create a chilling and kind of sick ambiance thanks to the ripping melodies and mind-altering disharmonies, which are (very) inspired by none other than Deathspell Omega and Aosoth, but which makes me think about how Teitanblood could have sounded if they dwelved into these realms (especially on a vocal level). All this results (and this is the most interesting part of it) in making you loose the sense of orientation and leave your body behind without too many efforts, like your conscience had been stripped-off it and thrown into the sonic whirlwind they create, in large part thanks to a production which quite often makes you think they lost control of things, although you know very well how deliberate and conscious the decision of taking it to the extreme was.

A very well crafted and intense experience. Not specially original, although exceptionally well written, executed and recorded. 

www.facebook.com/skaphebm
skaphe.bandcamp.com
www.fallenempirerecords.com

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