Book of Black Earth, Horoskopus
Seattle’s Book of Black Earth have produced a massive wall of blackened death on their Prosthetic Records debut, Horoskopus. Delving into the concept of “…hidden astrological elements of the Christian Church…” this disc is pretty damned dark, blasphemous and heavy. Built on a base of crushing death metal riffs, Book of Black Earth blacken it over the fire pits of hell, throwing in bruising rhythms, melodic hooks, symphonic keyboards and a ferocious vocal attack.
From the initial instrumental opener “2160” you know that you’re in for a bleak ride through a bleak landscape with these guys. The guitars have a thick sound as they gallop across plains of destruction, leaping into melancholy hooks and torrid leads. The rhythm section erupt constantly, spewing molten blasts through the speakers. The production on Horoskopus only proves to amplify the band’s sound with a rich fullness.
2160
The opener definitely sets the mood with beefy riffs, thick rhythms and plenty of darkness.
Death Of The Sun
After a great intro, the band tears into “Death of the Sun” with chugging riffs and driving drum work. There’s a decent textured layer that gives the guitars a welcome distorted, static feel. Tempo shifts abound to keep you on your toes as the deep guttural vocals growl.
Total Control
“Total Control” has some magnificent drum work throughout that’s matched wonderfully with massive riff work from the duel guitars. Layered vocals also help set this one apart as a stand out track. That similar static texture has been applied to this track, as well. This is definitely one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Horoskripture
The opening guitars on this one sound great with the distant keyboards — there’s definitely a touch of evil in the air on this one. Heavy drum work comes in about 30 seconds later as the wall of sound builds to monolithic proportions. Lots of chugging, galloping riffs and pummeling rhythms dominate “Horoskripture” completely.
Cult Of Dagon
“Cult of Dagon” starts off much slower, thicker and with a tremendous darkness to it. Sludgy guitars drone through a static bleakness as the vocals are delivered with plenty of vehemence and disgust. The slower nature to this track does little to hide the ferociousness that weaves in the background amongst the massive riffs, catchy hooks and controlled drums. This is a slick track, even as it slows around 2:20 mark with distant guitar noise, bass and light drums. But it doesn’t last long as a huge blast of those sludge filled guitars erupts around 3:15 to bring out out of the dark slumber. I freakin’ love this track.
Funeral Of Peace
I’m not sure what to make of this track. After that abysmally dark and evil “Cult of Dagon” the upbeat blasts on this one are an interesting shift. It’s still a fairly blackened track, but there’s a bit more melody and catchiness to it that sort of takes away from the previous tracks — a bit more of a Swedish death metal vibe.
God Of War
Reverb and massive guitar hits gets “God of War” off to a beastly start. The action really gets going at 1:22 with galloping guitars and manic drum blasts. The vocals are a bit more raw and guttural on this one as the thick sound pummels you senseless. I love the brutal rhythms and blasts right after the three minute point.
The Darkest Age
After recovering from “Funeral of Peace” with the overly aggressive “God of War,” the guys settle down a bit with mid tempo riffing and heavy drum work. The keyboards on this one should probably be a bit more in the background as a more ambient role. Again, the band delays the full force of their attack until after the first minute, choosing to build slowly to the blasting drums and chugging guitars. There’s even what might be the album’s first solo just after the 4 minute mark.
From Heaven
Symphonic keyboards start off “From Heaven” with, well, a heavenly feel before Massive riffing and heavy drums come in with a slower vocal delivery. There’s a definite air of melancholy to this one, but it’s not nearly as bleak sounding as the previous tracks. It’s not the strongest track on the album, but still not too bad.
The Great Year
Rolling drums and some interesting guitar work start off “The Great Year” as the vocals follow in shortly after. It seems as though the band has shifted from the death metal base upon which they built the first half of the album. The last few songs have been decent, but not nearly as aggressive or compelling as the album’s opening songs.
Christ Pathogen
The final track on the disc starts off with atmospheric noise and acoustic guitar plucking that lasts about 30 seconds before thick guitars and light drum work come in jointly. This one at times has a heavy funeral doom feel, but steps up the pace with driving drums and riffs. The keyboards are way too far out in the front on this one and distract from the distorted guitar tones and layered vocals.
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Overall, Book of Black Earth’s Horoskopus is a strong entry into the blackened death metal genre. There’s a lot to look forward to when popping this one in the disc player. Massive riffs, driving tempos and thick rhythms accompany deep, guttural vocals throughout the album as elements of ambiance, melancholy and melody are injected here and there. I’m interested to see where these guys go next with their sound.
Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A