Given enough time in certain circumstances, we can witness musicians turn to material more challenging than what they’ve performed before whether it be out of a notion to challenge themselves as musicians or craft something wholly different altogether. Such is the nature of the underground with many of its denizens refusing to sit still for very long with the allure of the far-off and unknown calling to those who are daring enough to lose themselves in such darkness, unsure of what they’ll uncover. When three mysterious experts of the Danish underground ventured forth into such blackness, it’s hard to say if they actively sought out what would come to form Arkæon or if it came to them of its own accord, but the end result cannot be seen as anything short of a wild beast that’s a true creation of the underground with every facet that it has to offer something to behold in virtually every capacity.

Practically by definition, to create challenging material is to find yourself before a beast that is not at all easy to surmise or put in a bottle such that it can be explained wholly and certifiably. Such is just part of the difficulty whenever a band dares to push themselves beyond into territories that few would consider even barely accessible, but it’s the tenacious and the pervasive that tend to come out on top when faced with such a dogmatic drive to bring such wonders to light. Yet, that didn’t prevent Arkæon for even a second from delivering excellence on a scale that is all but unexpected from a debut no matter how talented the people involved are. Right from the very onset of “Parasit” with that ominous cover art, it’s clear that this is not a record for the uninitiated. While far from bestial creations of matured and calculated madness like what we’ve seen from Triumvir Foul or Esoctrilihum, Arkæon’s first is much more of a parasitic creation, further driving home the straight-to-the-point album title, making these five tracks that very definition of venomous, conniving, and undeniably deadly. It quickly accumulates to not only make “Parasit” a bewildering creation from the dense cold of Scandinavia in all of the glory that it has done for the very whole of metal, but it shows us that Arkæon is already a band that isn’t to be messed with. From experimental passages to lengthy deviations into much of what black metal has long been capable of, this is far from any sort of performance that any of us would dare to expect from anybody’s debut creation, yet Arkæon delivered it all with the skilled hand and aptitude that would one all but expect out of long-proven masters of the genre.

The very darkness of the night and all that it holds seems to play a part in the very whole of this record. There isn’t one stone left untouched or soul left unmarred after becoming immersed in what Arkæon has brought forward here with the very simplicity of the reality at hand here being that this is nothing something to underestimate in any capacity. For if “Parasit” is what this unit accomplishes on the first go, I tremble as the prospect of what a more matured and cohesive vision of Arkæon can wrought.

“Parasit” releases on November 18th via I, Voidhanger Records!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Parasit” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Arkæon on Facebook here.