Live Suffer Die — A Voice From Beyond Death
Before I get stuck into this review- I have to be honest/ open and say while I'm a BM fan, and like most sub-genres of the form- I'm don't normally enjoy Depressive Black Metal- which this album is. Cards on the table I didn’t like this album at all on the first time I played it- but I persevered and have gone onto begrudgingly admire it, and have to admit that A Voice From Beyond Death stands as some of the darkest music I have ever heard. Also I have to pay my respects to both Gifford & Matzigkeitus because they know what they are doing, and were one hundred percent focused on creating very dark & depressive BM.
When one truly immerse oneself with the tracks, it's almost as if someone is pulling things from the deepest and darkest parts of your soul-those things that you shouldn't even whisper about, and you try to bury forever so that you don't burden your life with them. Lörd Matzigkeitus’s strange screams and darken voices lead you through the tracks – and at points, they feel like they could tear you into small pieces. So be careful: it goes way beyond torture.
The album's opener, "14 Voices", is over thirteen minutes long and begins with rolling drums combined with a dissonant and blurry guitar riff. Against this background, muffled spoken words, screams of despair, and whispers of madness slowly fight their way into it. The track sets the tone for the album. The singing is what really carries the mood. This does not mean that the music is not well made, but rather that the emotions represented in the many different vocal styles, such as depression, grief, mania, paranoia, hate, and more, weave their way through the darkly flowing music.
"Fisted Aspirations of Sanctuary" is the second track and lasts a little over twelve minutes. The very clean played guitars are joined with a slow, ponderous rhythm and an almost unusually solemn tonal feel for Depressive Black Metal (?).
The third track is called "Self Destructive Fiend" and goes from one note to the next for over seventeen minutes. It gives off a feeling of complete loneliness, desolation, and monotony. Even though the sound is very similar to the two previous tracks. The drums keep you firmly under control but amaze you with their gripping, fascinating routine. Often you get the impression that the guitar work is more in the background, and the entire focus is mainly set on the vocals and all their negative emotions. Unfortunately, this occasionally affects the structure of the piece and makes it feel a little disorganized ...
"Twin Witches of Ruin" is the fourth and, at only ten minutes, is the shorts track on the album. Here hypnotic riff meets very angry vocals and an all-consuming, devastating tension- almost as if everything falling on you and buries under itself.But the piece also knows to surprise with a few variations and a guitar solo.
The final track, "Veins Wide Open" closes the album. It is again a heavy song which is actually carried entirely by its phlegmatic lead guitars and despite its melodiousness makes it clear once again what this is about. A passable ending for the heavy emotional strain of the previous tracks.
Without a doubt A Voice From Beyond Death feels like the truest distillation of real Suicidal Depressive Black Metal… and how you feel about that- will tell you if this is for you or not.