Originally written by Erik Thomas
I have not heard anything from Bindrune Recordings since 2010’s Blood of the Black Owl swansong, A Banishing Ritual. However, if there were a label that defined quality over quantity, it is indeed Bindrune Recordings, as they recently released two fantastic efforts this summer in Falls of Rauros’s The Light That Dwells in Rotten Wood and this, the debut of Minnesota’s Obsequiae.
A duo who have served time in Autumnal Winds (Obsequiae is apparently a reformed iteration of Autumnal Winds) and Celestiial, Obsequiae is a project that exceeds both predecessors in scope and quality, delivering an organic, beautiful and medieval-tinged take on modern, transcendental black metal (a term, which despite, Hunter Hunt-Hendrix’s best efforts isn’t a dirty word and does apply here) that resides in the same general area as Agalloch, Fen, Wolves in the Throne Room and such. I also get a bit of a Primordial feel from some of the pacing and riffs, due to the primitive, epic aura they imbue.
I’ve seen the term “castle metal” thrown about in various press releases, and as someone that grew up around and in castles, I can say that there is some truth to that analogy. Amid the organic tones, layered riffs, warm tremolo picks, distant rasps and acoustics lies a certain dusty archaic atmosphere of stone walls, roaring hearths, Pavane’s, tapestries, knights, delicate chamber music and ghosts of times past. It’s hard to describe, but when you hear some of the melody lines and acoustic strains of opener “Altars of Moss”, you’ll know it instantly. The beautiful cover art also hints at the music contained within.
Suspended In the Brume of Eos is a enthralling journey, a journey where glowing, somnolent black metal (“In the White Fields”, “Suspended In the Brume of Eos”, “The Wounded Fox”) is mixed with gorgeous medieval acoustic interludes (“Sidhe”, “Wildes Heer”, “Estas Redit” “Boreas”). But Obsequiae also shows that they aren’t just about languid atmospheres, as on the rare occasion when they open up a little (“Arrows”, “The Starlit Shore”, “Cabin Lights”) — they are equally as adept, and still manage to drench the more urgent material in that tangible medieval mood.
Obsequiae (and Falls of Rauros, for that matter) is the perfect answer for the backlash against organic, intelligent American black metal of late (thanks, Liturgy) and one of the the more mesmerizing albums I’ve heard in 2011.
