I’m as much a fan of a straightforward creation as much as the next guy, but there just aren’t very many things out there that can compare to when a band dares to go above and beyond while absolutely nailing the delivery from top to bottom. It’s the sort of thing that does rounds in your mind for days on end as you struggle to get such a worm out of your brain, yet it just feels too damn good. Black metal can easily be home to such surprises, but it takes quite an act to deliver it all in a way that actually capitalizes on the potential. Having been doing so for the last eight years, it’s with their latest effort that Misotheist offers us what all too few can.
Eight years is more than enough time to have built a reputation for yourself, and it ought to go without saying that Misotheist has shown us how it’s done in a truly stupendous fashion. Ever since their first record, this act has remained shrouded in a thick mystery that many of us are happy to leave unsolved as it is the raw splendor that Misotheist has become known for that we’re constantly fascinated by. After three terrific displays of what black metal can still become when it’s put in the hands of artists that take every aspect into account, it’s the arrival of “De Pinte” that we see Misotheist return in top form yet again. Four tracks are all that adorn this record, but it is in keeping the trends of its predecessors that “De Pinte” offers us music of a longer form that never skimps on the grandeur nor misses an opportunity to deliver a rich tapestry of black metal across an uncompromising 41-minute runtime. The raw artistry at work here is beyond captivating. Never once content at just leaving the work as a straightforward creation of black metal, Misotheist not only pulled greatly from their previous creations to ensure this record is grand and downright fascinating to watch unfold, “De Pinte” also stands immeasurably tall as a gorgeous vision of what can happen when a band truly loses themselves in the craft and comes out the other side as irrefutable masters.
At any given moment, black metal is inundated with plenty of talent that has more than enough to show us just how much splendor and magnificence the genre can still throw our way even decades down the line. Yet, there’s something particularly devious with the magic that’s interwoven throughout “De Pinte”. Misotheist was already a name to be respected from top to bottom after all they’ve already accomplished, but it’s here that they’ve gone to another level all together.
LISTEN to “De Pinte” on Bandcamp here.