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Clashes between styles making it harder to get into then their potential makes it.-
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| Tenebrous: Opus Magnum |
Black Metal
Forever Plagued Records
April 2nd, 2009
- What Death Has Fallen - 3:43
- Wallachia Weywoden - 3:55
- Ars Moriendi - 5:09
- Monoliths of Thule - 4:18
- Lords of the Blackstone - 3:57
- Magisterium - 2:52
- Opvs Magnvm - 5:36
- Imperium - 4:58
- Triumph des Willens - 5:05
- Solemnity of Ages - 4:23
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| Review Information |
Release length: 43:54
Review posted on July 9th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 6/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Opus Magnum (2009)
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| EP(s): |
Arias Toward the Black Sun (2005)
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| Review |
Tenebrous is another one of those bands that, when you think of Black Metal, you don't think their location. This band hails from West Palm Beach, Florida, and was formed back in 1998. Even though the group has existed now for quite some time, they have only issued a debut EP back in 2005 titled Arias Toward the Black Sun, and this, their first full-length recording titled Opus Magnum (or Opvs Magnvm as some title it in an effort to retain the more "kvlt" appeal of the album, as well as on the artwork for the album, though the label does not sell or promote it under that title). So, in the end, what can we expect from this US Black Metal act?
Well, it's hard to sit here and say that more of the same is expected, but that's about what it boils down to. Tenebrous takes on the raw production quality idea, though it doesn't go so far as to sound like it was recorded on a casette player through the small mic like some underground acts like to do. The music still sounds pretty sharp and clear, having a bit of a muddied sound to it, whereas the vocals are much lower and further back in the miz, which is where much of the raw production element comes into account. There is an echo effect on the vocals of course, and they just sound sickening, which works well for this effort, though the music itself does not share that same kind of feeling. Musically the album feels like a traditional Black Metal effort with a slight modern influence to it without the general fury and inclusion of blast beats, as well as an early second wave influence at through the album, such as the bridges to "Wallachia Weywoden". But, while these general concepts appear throughout, there's no denying the more cult/ritualistic underground Black Metal fashion that can appear as well, which is more along the lines of how the album is established with the first song, "What Death Has Fallen".
And that's where the atmosphere generally is derived from. While the album doesn't necessarily have it's own unique atmosphere, it does manage to give off a bit of a darker sensation with a ritualistic environment. This proves to be far better for Tenebrous in the sense that it allows the band to explore their possibilities throughout the album, but still retain to the established atmosphere set from "What Death Has Fallen". For example, "What Death Has Fallen" has a strong mixture of early second wave styles that tries to capture a more cold and grim atmosphere with a modern approach and random moments that will remind the listener of earlier Emperor recordings, while "Ars Moriendi" often has a more dramatic and epic feel to the performance that brings in an emotional feeling to the music here and there, such as a very saddening or sorrowful passage near the start of the final third of the track that really plays with the listener's feelings more then others on this recording can.
This becomes the general idea of the rest of the album. Nothing really changes, and Opus Magnum really clings to jumping between that atmospheric second generation sound with a more modern approach mixed in at times. The songs on here often have a good deal of unique traits to them, and all come off as solid recordings that give a good representation of the growing U.S. Black Metal scene. The only big issue with these songs comes when there's a strong focus on cymbols. "Lords of the Blackstone" is a fantastic track, but the cymbols in some bridges just feel off-beat with the rest of the song, coming in just a split second too short, though the snares work well and seem to actually come in slightly earlier. Another issue that plagues this track, as well as others on the recording is that it jumps between the two styles, and at times it really picks up in intensity and aggression, but never seems to want to settle on establishing one sound to focus on. This hurts at the end of the song, especially when it picks up in speed and richness with strong double bass kicks enhancing the music well, then just goes from a modern sounding track back to it's slower earlier Black Metal foundation that seems to clash with what had the potential to be a fantastic quick build towards a climax. In other words, there's a lack of consistancy and it causes some parts to clash.
Despite the issue with consistancy and clashing, there's still some good tracks on here. "Ars Moriendi" really brings a good emotional tie to the music with a much slower pace, and "Lord of the Blackstone" has some very impressive moments throughout the track. You also have "Imperium" which is just a far more sinister sounding song from start to finish, and seems to really grab hold of that attitude and run with it through the much faster and more intense music the band plays and builds up on since it's more atmospheric introduction. Much of "Triumph des Willens" is like this too, but out of nowhere, just past the half way point, that more intense and aggressive modern sound is replaced with a much slower guitar-only passage that sets up a truly cold and melancholic passage that carries on for a while then hammers into a completely different passaged that plays off that just now established atmosphere and leads into what sounds like a completely different song all together. On top fo that you also have "Monoliths of Thule" which seems to be a little more stable towards that more second wave Black Metal style, as does "What Death Has Fallen" but what modern influences are brought into that track are transitioned better and feel more cohesive to the final outcome, leading both of these songs to become enjoyable tracks as well.
One other thing I need to address with this is the track "Magisterium", as I have no idea what is going on with it. This could be a fluke in the promotional copy sent, especially since this is just a CD-R pressing and I'm not certain whether the official version is a factory pressed CD or not, but shortly into the song it skips horribly by repeating the same piano note over and over for about twenty five seconds before cutting into what sounds like the general progression of the song. I doubt this is in the actual pressing due to that progression it seems to make when the skipping stops. The song itself, however, is actually very intriguing and has a gothic-era vibe to it, but it doesn't really work with the established cult/ritualitist environments the album puts forth.
Opus Magnum is not at all a bad album, it just seems to lack a solid consistancy much of the time. The atmosphere is pretty subtle, but it can sometimes feel like it's not enough, or just clashes due to the sudden departure of one style of Black Metal into another, leaving the album to be rather confusing when you try to understand what it was trying to do. Overall, the album is still enjoyable and has a good amount of songs that seem fluid from start to finish compared to the amount that simply aren't, though many of those tracks seem to appear later on in the recording, leaving the album hard to get into and stay focused after "What Death Has Fallen" until those said songs manage to kick in. Fans of U.S. Black Metal will probably enjoy the album more, but in the end Opus Magnum could have been a stronger, more appealing effort from the band, especially given the potential that does shine through when the band gets things right.
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