Death chases and haunts us from the time we are made aware of its presence until the day it finally gets us, and it is the product of too many levels of anxiety to even count. It’s the dark phantom a step behind us in case we make a fatal mistake or our bodies give out. It can’t be escaped, and it can’t be denied.
Polish black metal duo Thanatorean (vocalist E, multi-instrumentalist KM) dive deeply into that fear and madness on their debut full-length “Ekstasis of Subterranean Currents,” a nine-track journey into the mysterious void. The band drapes majesty and darkness over nearly 38 minutes of chaos that feels like it is pulling you into the unknowable mystery of our demises and what may lie after, if anything at all. It’s a chilling experience that eats away at you, just like your own nightmares pulling you into the caverns of death.
“The Descent” starts with sounds boiling and rippling, and then everything opens into ominous black metal, the sooty screams buried in the dirt, the leads going off and electrifying. The mood gets cavernous as power hangs like a storm cloud, stomping off into oblivion. “With Tongues of the Underworld” detonates with relentless energy and wild howls, melodic charges jolting your spine, smoke rising and choking. The pace charges into charred terrain, the growls pummel, and everything ends in dire fury. “Thrice-Hexed” has the vocals punishing, guitars sweltering, the ghoulish force in full command. The sounds slowly melt into a mind-altering syrup, singing bellowing before an infernal push, guitars tangling and vibrating. “Tranquil Trueness of End” opens with charging guitars, growls mashing, and the humidity rising, making breathing difficult. Haunting speaking echoes as they turn into menacing howls, the guitars mystifying and generating steam.
“De Profundis” is doomy and cloudy, blasts suddenly ripping through its midsection, the guitars creating a hallucinatory fog. That weirdness spills into a sudden eruption, dashing as the final fires gasp. “To Abyss Sacrosanct” dawns with bass layering, smashing as deeper growls lurch, clean warbling turning into a nightmarish void. Guitars glimmer and trick your mind, the pace hammering once more before disappearing. “In Reverent Throes” attacks, sooty growls slinking, the force penetrating your cells and changing their structure. The heat encircles, led by the guitars generating a force, the riffs the only thing surviving the icy end. “Bound Beneath and Beyond” brings a steady tempo, guitars defacing, blending into a bizarre chasm that melts your inhibitions. The force becomes overwhelming, stretching and repeating, the sweat coating your face. The closing title track pulls you into the center of hypnosis, the guitars bleeding colors, howls erupting and mangling your mental faculties. Growls retch as a spindly pace unloads like a savage weather front, ferocity spinning off into hell.
“Ekstasis of Subterranean Currents” is an unsettling experience both musically and thematically as we are forced to stare death in the eyes and accept our fates. The playing is immersive and chilling, and they capture the anxiety and terror surrounding the very idea of our demise. This is a black tunnel with no end, music here to defy comfort and head directly into the void.
For more on the band, go here: https://thanatorean.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here (U.S.): https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/
Or here (Europe): https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/
Meat Mead Metal 