Band:	Reverorum Ib Malacht
Album:	Urkaos
Style:	Dark Ambient, Black metal
Release date:	2011
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Credamus
02. In Blando Xpi Sibilo
03. Ecclesia's Call
04. Ecclesia's Call
05. Sermon Below The Mount
06. Omen
07. The Lord Is...
08. The Lord Is...
09. URKAOS
10. (no audio)
11. Untitled

Christmas is probably the happiest period of the year simply because it's filled with self-motivated hypocrisy while at the same time people draw those vibes from the overall surrounding environment: religion, society, family, relatives, friends, etc. Bright lights, celebrations, gentleness and yes, charity, fucking charity; somehow you're obliged to show your affection to the poor and lonely of the world, at least those nearby. And the media, the social advertisements, the church, everybody concur. It's this specific period of the year that everyone is obliged to recall his humane side and depict this to the world through various actions for a good cause. You know what? Fuck off. If you feel like helping those nearby that don't share the same slice under the sun as you do, you can do it silently any time of the year without having to push yourself within a specific time frame in a self-centered miserable act of atonement seeking space for wholeheartedness to bloom where there's no place to share.

Art has always been the transparent knife of permeating opposition to something and Reverorum Ib Malacht served their purpose well during those jubilant, delightful days (and nights) with Urkaos' counter-liturgy vibes. Its ritual-like aesthetic evokes a sense of devout dismay and the production delivers a sound as if it was pouring from a coven where unearthly masses echo from within. Urkaos is not a musical entity, it's a dreadful experience of transcending horror that breaks into splinters everything that is sacred and pure; it shines with darkness simply to devour anything enlightened. I never had imagined a musical veil would ever make the listener bathe in the blood of saints and martyrs and lave in the tears of angels' hatred. It's not redemption you're asking for, it is the gloom that you're craving. On one hand, in terms of ambiance it's everything orthodox black metal is trying to achieve in the recent years: it's surrounding, ecclesiastic, divine, through an inverted prism. On the other hand, it doesn't possess the actual sound of black metal. It lurks in the shadows of dark ambient/ritual and at the same time it caresses unfathomed depths of spoken-word exposure through its eerie recitations, it holds a chanting sense of impurity but at the same time it leaves traces that hold tight to the unbroken vow of the black metal aesthetic.

Incensing echoing guitars evoke a hypnotizing atmosphere that lurks somewhere between the back and the fore ground, creating the ideal environment for the foul seeds to blossom on barren soil. I'm referring, of course, to the captivating interpretation that leads to an aural asymmetry of pleasure. Recitations, chants, unintelligible whispers and rasping incantations float all over the place and blend with otherworldly effects, keyboards and accompanying drumming; everything's in the right place, at the right time, for the right reason, for one cause, to escort the plague throughout the journey. This time it's not only the destination that matters, every step counts and it's an integral part of course.

Don't be misguided by the snow-white cover artwork, it's the book in the centre that matters. Once the sounds of Urkaos start invading your mental privacy the pages will start unveiling their calligraphic lines in the form of sound visions.

The fragrance of a cathedral never felt so lurid. Carry the flaming torch underneath the ruins; to the catacombs below.

PS.
Urkaos is the sound equivalent of the orthodox Saint Cyprian's dual essence, great occultist of his time and admirer of the Black Arts, he possessed the power to summon impure spirits to serve his own purposes. Later on he embraced Christianity and became a martyr.