Flešš - Volume I [Amor Vati, Lunar Apparitions, & Les Fleurs du Mal - 2019]Here we have Volume I from Canadian BM-solo-project Flešš. You could just label this project as old-fashioned & very raw lo-fi Black Metal, but this simple description wouldn’t do the project justice!. Hailing from the depths of the Canadian forests, Flešš’s work moves from very raw punky influences, over to doomy structures, through to depressive or ambient-like sound-texturing. This release original appeared as a C30 cassette released back in 2017 by DIY BM/ Dungeon synth label Malum Arcana. This re-released appears as either vinyl and CD as a collaboration between labels Amor Vati, Lunar Apparitions and Les Fleurs du Mal Productions.
For me, the most enjoyable element of this album was definitely the guitar sound, which has a nice northern BM tone. The riffing, which adds in small amounts of dark-sounding melodies, make it clear that much of the music of Flešš (and their Influences?) are rooted in the 90s BM.
The vocals on the release begin with s grim, but high-pitched Black Metal-Screaming, as we move on we get demonic growls or ritualistic, spoken words. However, while listening to the album, I did feel at times the whispered vocals where difficult hear- not sure if the vocals were recorded very quietly, or mixed different levels but sometimes it feels there is a dip in the vocal audible levels.
Some tracks use tremolo picking, making the songs even rougher, while others sound very long and epic. Every now and then, some blast beats drive the music much faster, making a welcome change to the dominant mid-tempo direction. Also noteworthy is the very ritualistic vibe that appears on short soundscape track "Serpent Tomb".
As already mentioned, Flešš celebrates a Black Metal style that sounds very raw and old-school. And although the production sounds very rough, dark and lo-fi, it still offers variety and surprises, such as tracks like "Orgy Of Vampires", "Raped On The Altar", "Moonlit Fornication" or the already mentioned piece "Serpent Tomb" show us more depth/mood. The lyrics on Volume I deal with traditional witchcraft, vampirism, blood rituals, and self-hatred. The murky red 'n' black artwork of the album is a true black metal/punk hybrid in its presentation! Very suitable, minimal and appealing!
So in finishing my only real criticism here is the unbalanced vocal-volumes, as they are not always easy to make out - but this maybe down to my hearing. So despite my issues, Volume I is most recommendable, as it’s just not another run-of- the- mill BM release    Jan Warnke
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