After a string of represses and reissues, Agonia Records brings ‘Black Dust’, the latest album from French Black Metal unit Haemoth. The band started as a solo project by lead creative Haemoth (his moniker is the same as the band name) in 1999. Drummer Spektr joined some time after that. While consistent releases have not been Haemoth’s forte, the consistent duo of Haemoth and Spektr is proving fruitful on their latest effort for Agonia.
Prior to diving into the dense back catalog of demos and previous full length efforts from the band, one can garner that Haemoth’s mission statement has not changed over the years. They exist solely to write aggressive, evil and punishing Black Metal. While these words can be used to describe much of ‘Black Dust’, Haemoth leverages a far more raw production than their 2010 effort (‘In Nomine Odium’) which has the intended (or unintended?) effect of inducing a trance, pulling the listener deeper into the shadow realm from whence Haemoth came.
The production of the guitars and vocals have a highly scooped and scratchy tone, sitting more alongside the cymbals than they do the bass or kick drum. This adds to the uncomfortable and unsettling nature of the production, forcing the listener to constantly readjust and look for any kind of solace in the hellscape that Haemoth paints. Akin to the blueprint of Darkthrone’s ‘A Blaze In the Northern Sky’, the purposefully rough and gruff production really accompanies Haemoth’s music on ‘Black Dust’ splendidly. ‘Ashen Remains’ opens the record with a five and change minute marching slumber, while ‘D=IX’ has a similarly lulling effect. ‘Dead Frequency’ embraces the power of the riff and stomps along from top to bottom, and ‘Incense Of The Last Rite’ is a frantic and relentless tune, cementing the band’s prowess in variety.
‘Black Dust’ is certainly not a release to put anyone in a good mood. The album is raw, ugly and unsettling from front to back, regardless of the tempo or color of the songs. While this album will take most listeners a couple spins to sink in, the seasoned Black Metal listener will find comfort in the violent shadows as ‘Black Dust’ consumes them.
