(written by Islander)
Seemingly out of nowhere, but really out of Athens, Penthos released their self-titled debut album in 2022, and next month they will follow that with a second full-length named Erevos. The music is rightly previewed as traditional black metal in a more Scandinavian than Greek vein, a changing tapestry of dark moods and supernatural forces, experiences both devastatingly bleak and hellishly fierce.
As an example of the band’s meticulously crafted changing states, today we’re presenting the second advance song from the album, a shuddering and startling sensation called “Όλεθρος (Olethros)“.
As you might guess from the image of Charon on the album’s cover, at least portions of the new record are rooted in Ancient Greek mythology, and the song we’re now premiering appears to be one of those. A bit of googling reveals this about the song’s name (per this source):
In Ancient Greek mythology, Olethros (Greek: ὄλεθρος) was the Greek concept or personification of “havoc” or “ruin”. Olethros translates roughly in ancient Greek to “destruction”, but often with a positive connotation, as in the destruction required for and preceding renewal.
With “Όλεθρος (Olethros)” Penthos erect a musical monument of menace, madness, and monstrosity. They open with a sinister stomp that pounds, whines, and frantically squirms, quickly planting seeds for the flowering of violence that soon ensues through viciously swarming riffage, turbocharged battering-ram beats, and beastly snarls. The music is gutting and cutting, heavy and sharp.
The dynamism so quickly established continues. The band slow the pace again (though the drums still pounding with brutish force), but this time the sizzling and shining riffs create a mood of agony and even despair. The guitars go wild again too, and the vocals explode in maniacal screams and strangled cries.
As the energies of the music ebb again, a vibrating guitar solo creates pain and then elevates it in shrill tones that magnify the aspect of the song that manifests as terror and hopelessness. And when the music accelerates again, a deeper-toned guitar buzzes in a dismal frenzy, leading toward a closing crescendo of blazing and battering chaos.
In fewer words: Strengthened with a powerfully penetrating production of sound, Penthos traffic in gripping intensity, creating frightening but electrifying outbursts of deranged ferocity but also generating equally riveting experiences of dread, despondency, and despair.
PENTHOS:
Apaisios – vocals, guitars
Zizka – bass
Algos – drums
Vauban – guitars
JA – guitars
Darkness Shall Rise will release Erevos on October 15th in a multitude of formats — vinyl LP editions with 12″ inserts in two colors; jewel-case-CD; cassette tape, and digitally. Find pre-orders below, along with our stream of the album’s first single, “Dancing Dead“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://darknessshallrise.de/
https://penthosdarknessshallrise.bandcamp.com/album/erevos
PENTHOS:
https://www.facebook.com/penthosband
DARKNESS SHALL RISE:
https://www.facebook.com/darknessshallriseproductions
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