Way To End - Various Shades Of Black

Yes, "French Black Metal" might as well become its own subgenre because, damn, it's usually that good, and this is no exception. Way To End's 50 Shades of... I mean Various Shades of Black is a complex and proggy album and one of an initially perplexing nature but it certainly yields great rewards for the persistent. To clarify, this isn't super-ultra-mega dissonant, rather it's the snaking and morphing progressive structures and avant-garde affectations that make this a bit of a challenge to start with. It's worth sticking with though as those trying moments frequently give way to a rich, mystical tapestry of sights and sounds, often melodic and atmospheric, always intriguing and surprising.