Bekor Qilish — Consecrated Abysses of Dread
Italian metal whirlwind, Andrea Bruzzone, is back with his ambitious, chaotic, and delightfully progressive solo project, Bekor Qilish. Consecrated Abysses of Dread is the third outing, pushing the project into the further reaches of creativity, mixing avant-garde ideas with brutal riffing and percussion. Helping Andrea out on this epic quest, a few guest artists (Mick Barr, Gabriele Gramaglia, Lisa Voisard, Saprovore, and Mauro Scarfia) lend their talents to thicken the mix and help bring Consecrated Abysses of Dread to dizzying heights. Fans of Cynic and Athiest take heed, as this album is a fastball right down your alley.
From the jump, Consecrated Abysses of Dread is in your face, teasing you with what you used to know about extreme metal and challenging you to come on a wild ride through space and time. Where most progressive, avant-garde acts tend to go a bit too far and lose something in translation, Bekor Qilish has a great grasp on keeping their message clear, engaging, and accessible. The ten tracks span just over thirty minutes, giving each piece adequate time to play but not too long to over-indulge. STRX's swirling, Lovecraftian cover art foreshadows the mixing, mingling chaos and sonic delight on the record, with elements of death, black, prog, and beyond all coming together in a fast-paced treat for the senses (well, hearing only, I guess, unless you're prone to synesthesia). Consecrated Abysses of Dread is well-paced and tightly arranged, with its instruments covering a lot of ground in the abbreviated runtimes. While this adds tension, it also helps Bekor Qilish move through their changes and progress each song rapidly, but with purpose. As stated above, there is a resistance to self-indulgence that often presents itself in a proggy/avant-garde record, which beckons the listener to return for repeated spins and more in-depth jaunts. Andrea's blackened vocals help to keep the album grounded as well, providing a nice point for juxtaposition when cleaner, guest vocals break through the fray.
Three years since his last full-length, Bekor Qilish's Consecrated Abysses of Dread shows the artist continuing to grow and challenge himself and others, mixing tech-death, black, prog, and anything else he desires to create an engaging, experimental treat. Densely layered but easy to parse, the album warrants repeated spins to unfold all the pieces at work under the surface. One of the most impressive one-man metal projects to date, this third album marks a wonderful addition to Bruzzone's growing discography and a step in a really interesting and experimental direction