As much as reviewers like myself love being able to pin any given album within a particular style to really help wrap our heads around the piece easier, there is always something fascinating to be had for the efforts that fight against such categorization. Names that are able to keep the listener guessing at what many of us keep coming back for with that surprise factor certainly being something that many acts aren’t able to deliver purely because it is difficult to do in a compelling fashion. Straddling the line between black metal and doom while never once afraid to deviate from that very path, Sword of Dis puts forth a tremendous effort that more than fits such a description.

Works like this are a truly rare occurrence even as the world of metal finds itself going through loads of creativity and bursts of innovation in certain corners of its many different scenes, but it’s not terribly often that we’re given works that can really attest to any sort of definition of beauty, macabre, and enchanting all in one glorious package. Rarely sitting in the same sonic territory for long, Sword of Dis has put on quite a display of power and out-of-the-box thinking with what they’ve brought to the table for “Melencolia”. Always keeping the listener in the dark for what direction their heading in next, Sword of Dis manages to find a fascinating balance between the intense and the harmonious to craft an experience of real depth that has much to offer in virtually every form be it from the dynamic duet of vocalists, the instrumentation that is incredibly dynamic in each track, or an offbeat approach that has loads to offer if you simply allow the work to take your hand wherever it may. The path less traveled is the clear home for Sword of Dis with “Melencolia” constantly showing off a vast talent that offers up much more than some blend of black and doom metal that can be surmised as simply that. Rather, Sword of Dis puts forth what’s likely a career-defining effort that is hauntingly beautiful and something to be feared at the same time.

Not too far unlike what their new labelmates of Sol have done with their latest album, what Sword of Dis accomplishes here is what it means to capture the beauty of a given sound to its fullest yet always flirting with a different style to keep the listener always on their edge of their seat as well as showing precisely the kind of exceptional act we have going on here. “Melencolia” has so much depth to its ten tracks that even five spins isn’t enough to fully absorb all that has been accomplished within the record for Sword of Dis has truly crafted something that can be compared to few others, and it deserves to be treated as such.

“Melencolia” releases on November 24th via I, Voidhanger Records!

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