(Today we present a review by our Norway-based contributor Chile of a new album by the Portuguese black metal band Onirik, out now on I, Voidhanger Records.)
Imagination is a wonderful thing. As far as mind goes, it’s faster than the speed of light, stronger than a gravitational pull of a black hole, and can jump over mountains and oceans with a single leap. Without it, the world would be a completely different place and our lives much poorer, or as the great American author Henry David Thoreau put it: “This world is but a canvas to our imagination”.
With that said, we can all agree (well, we would) that out of all the music genres in existence today, metal is the one relying the most on imagination and the endless possibilities it brings. Merging influences, crossing the boundaries of genres, or just applying new formulas to old experiments are just but a taste of the wonders that metal can unleash on to the world.
So, finally coming to the point, let our imagination take us to that faraway land known as Portugal and to one of its premier black metal bands, Onirik. Forging the dark matter with vision and dedication, the band (or more precisely, Gonius Rex, the mastermind behind it) has been a purveyor of ritualistic celebrations for over twenty years now, with no sign of stopping soon.
ONIRIK photo by Miguel Pinheiro
Released on May 30th, the band’s sixth album Curling Serpents Under Stone represents the third and final part of the trilogy of albums including the two previous strong outings, namely Casket Dream Veneration from 2015 and the more recent The Fire Cult Beyond Eternity, released five years ago. Loosely described, we have moved through the domains of death and apocalypse and are now approaching the final descent into Hell.
What sets the new album apart, on the very first listen, is the more stripped-down approach, especially considering the lush, texturized sound of its predecessors. This makes sense by closely reading the promotional materials which state that Curling Serpents Under Stone is meant to serve as a tribute to the 1990s Norwegian black metal scene and bands like early Satyricon, Ved Buens Ende, Isengard, Darkthrone and Emperor, or in the words of Gonius Rex himself:
“It’s my way of paying respects to those who influenced me the most and paved the way for this artistic form and way of life. To them I owe the privilege of standing in the higher seats of Hell’s amphitheater, side to side with bards and predictors of humanity’s downfall.”
There is certainly a lot of background information here to unpack, even before we press play. As we know, many have tried to emulate both the sound and the atmosphere of the early Norwegian scene and many have failed. Well, reading this on No Clean Singing and the album being released on I, Voidhanger Records, one of metal’s top underground labels, should be the first signs of where we are going with this. Let us enter hell together.
Appropriately titled intro “Funeral March” draws us in with its mournful melodies setting the stage for the sulphuric invocation of “All is Hell, Hell is All” which blazes a melodic path to the very heart of Hell. Although Gonius Rex is handling all the instruments, guitar is certainly the busiest one on display, whirling and twirling at all times, enveloping us in the flaming mist and brought to life by the fantastic mix courtesy of Cosmic Putrefaction’s Gabriele Gramaglia.
This continues with the battle hymn of “Night of Nights”, which not only calls forth the Norwegian scene but also infuses a solid amount of classic heavy metal into its bloodstream. With blades sharpened and fists raised, the song goes hell-bent for leather in an evocative show of compositional mastery and strength.
“Undertaker of Men” echoes the romanticist side of Onirik going through a series of movements, some sorrowfully poetic, other devilishly soul-crushing, but all of them serving a single purpose. We are not only in a dialogue with Death, we are Death. Following this is “Argument with the Stars”, a short, acoustic interlude that further highlights the romanticist leanings of the previous track and thus propelling us into the title track.
Opening with the synth line emulating horns from the top of the mountains, the song quickly dives into the hellish fire at full speed. Majestic melodies abound and once again the gravelly croak of Gonius Rex proves a perfect counterpoint to their ethereal quality. Overflowing into “To My Last Day on Earth”, we are further subjected to the dreams and visions of hearts broken and destinies forlorn.
Not forgetting the fact that we are still in Portugal, the album concludes with “Depois da Batalha”, sung in Portuguese, which makes a full circle by bringing back the mournful atmosphere of the album’s intro. Making an impact without picking up the tempo significantly, it marches us on across the battlefield, witnessing the aftermath of the confrontation and the decay that follows.
In the end, this may be a tribute to the masters of old on paper, but is certainly not a bland, tasteless copy and stands on its own as a testament to black metal’s enduring spirit. With Onirik we are in good hands for the foreseeable future, for these are truly the stories of the Devil, monuments that will never be forgotten.
Curling Serpents Under Stone was released on May 30th on I, Voidhanger Records in all available formats. Orders for the record and all related merchandise are possible via label and Bandcamp stores.
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/curling-serpents-under-stone
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/merch
https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/
https://www.facebook.com/people/Onirik/100063447774716/
https://www.facebook.com/i.voidhanger.records/