Band:	Darzamat
Album:	Solfernus' Path
Style:	Gothic metal
Release date:	August 2009

01. False Sleepwalker
02. Vote For Heresy
03. I Devium
04. Pain Collector
05. Final Conjuration
06. II Fumus
07. Gloria Inferni
08. III Venenum
09. Solfernus' Path
10. Lunar Silhouette
11. King Of The Burning Anthems
12. IV Spectaculum
13. Chimera
14. A Mesmeric Séance

Like a thick mist that mercilessly overwhelms one in the dead of night, there really was no escape for me once the disquieting introduction pulled me into the concept of Solfernus' Path. Darzamat's latest is an exhaustively worked-over album that bridges the abyss between aggressive gothic metal and melodic black metal. After a quick glance at the deceptive artwork that adorns the album's cover, a turn of the page reveals the obviously perilous beginnings: a journal entry of student named Filip Stodulski, a broken down automobile in 1909, and his subsequent entry into the nearby mansion of Countess Josephine von Küchmeister.

Darzamat have been perfecting their style for a few albums now, putting their albums before SemiDevilish so far in the distance I'll likely only listen to them in historical terms from now on. They've presented us with a thicker production compared to their Transkarpatia release from four years prior, and continue to unearth even more pleasingly creepy melodies despite keeping songs in the four minute area. The band must have spent countless sleepless nights refining the arrangements and lyrics, as any attempt to follow along with the booklet quickly found me as lost as our main character, Filip, as he began searching the rooms of the Countess's mansion. Half of the the lyrics are absent from the songs themselves, and the rest are rarely in the order written.

Heavy emphasis on guitar riffs is found throughout, spreading out in a mixture of death and gothic styles. Much to my approval, some solos work their way onto the album, with particular notice on the final track, "Mesmeric Séance," and on "King Of The Burning Anthems," which features a guest solo by Andy LaRocque. A dark atmosphere is ever-present in Solfernus' Path, with the synth interjecting itself out of background harmonies to keep the transitions seamless, as well as taking on a life of their own in the numerous appropriate interludes.

What I enjoy most about Darzamat is the layers of abrasive, love-it-or-hate-it male vocals of Flauros balanced by the eerie, beckoning female vocals of Nera. Like a smokey, infected howl that chases you in a rotting apparition, Flauros is the blunt balance that the vigorous drumming demands. Nera is never the typical style of the genre, instead providing the sinister vocal representation to what perhaps the Countess's voice sounds like. The addition of tasteful melodic moans and her lingering accent only add appeal to her approach, and an excellent mix gives her lines the attention that develops into anticipation after repeated listens.

Before the release, Darzamat had noted the concept album's transcendental nature, and their writing's similarities to Polish horror/fantasy author Stefan Grabinski. After spending many sleepless nights reading and re-reading Grabinski's short stories, I'm convinced the band has succeeded. One read through a story like "Saturnin Sektor" with its debate of Time versus Duration, of unexplained murder and its compulsive insanity, and Solfernus' Path instantly becomes the only soundtrack I'll need.

Filled with dreary yet lush photography, Darzamat's latest is best understood with its booklet in hand to follow the migration of our protagonist to newfound mental planes. Solfernus' Path is not just an album that suddenly presses down on you with an inescapable nighttime mist from above, but also relentlessly itches your skin from below with an invisible raven's feather. More focused than ever, they appeal to a metal listener of a particular taste, one who loves a melodic accessibility but also finds comfort in the foggy wastelands that lurk between genres.