There is a particular kind of extremity that does not come from speed or violence, but from craftsmanship and compositional dexterity. Ænigmatum understands it well.
Ænigmatum brings a fantastic variant of Progressive Black/Death Metal from the US. ‘Infinitude’s Passage’ marks their latest and third full-length, and it meets and even exceeds the expectations developed by the previous two which were both commendable in their own right.
Musically speaking, Ænigmatum blends avant-garde elements with a labyrinthine, dark, and chaotic sound that nevertheless retains a sense of composure and control.
In such an arrangement, the clearest influences are two bands: StarGazer and The Chasm. However, Ænigmatum executes these influences with an absolute sense of ownership. There is nothing imitative about the way these elements are brought together as they are absorbed into the band’s own peculiar style.
There is a lot of melody throughout the whole album. It is one of the band’s many signature aspects. However, this doesn’t come off as traditionally melodic, as the melodies retain a strong sense of foreboding and rarely feel detached from the album’s darker atmosphere.
The riffs are intricate and chromatic, which utilizes a lot of harmonies along with the pounding bass. These altogether make ‘Infinitude’s Passage’ very indulging. Its sound has a cosmic and astral quality woven into it, and this makes the band’s dark style even more nefarious.
This is also where the interplay between the instruments becomes particularly engaging. The songs leave a lot of room for both lead and bass guitars to work on top of the central riffs that let the compositions progressively move from one section to another. The guitars often take you into a dreamlike journey where paths get lost in a maze, only for the music to suddenly descend into doom and gloom breakdowns, with layers of details that reveal themselves throughout the process.
These stellar characteristics make this album’s cosmic expanse feel even more vivid. The experience that this record gives is truly one of a kind.
All this to say is that Ænigmatum’s performance on ‘Infinitude’s Passage’ is phenomenal. The album uncompromisingly proves how meritorious the band is, with an approach to Extreme Metal that is immensely detailed and atmospheric without sacrificing the pitch-black darkness at its core.
