Hexapterygon

Four years after their big change in their sound with the album Chrismation, the Greeks Deus Ignotus return with another full length album (in the meanwhile they released an EP in 2014) adding one more bestial creation the their musical journey. Hexapterygon was released the 1st of November of 2016 and it contains eight compositions of overall duration of about thirty five minutes. Their second full length album continues the bestial Black Metal that they presented to us also into their first one, making the “orthodox” elements more intense, mainly with the themes they deal with, with the samples that they use as intros for some tracks as also into some passages. They are moving into fast pace patterns, their sound is brutal and dirty Black Metal that will remind you maybe of a more technical version of Von.

As you can understand by the reference to Von, the sound is bestial, dirty and the structure of the compositions is quite simple and straightforward with a lot of repetitive patterns. However, we come across some slow, Doom -ier passages as also some paranoid solos that they show a different more technical side of the band, they make the compositions more interesting and they create different feelings, but always under a dirty and dark approach. So they are saved by the monotonous and repetitive patterns and they renew the interest of the listener. The riffs are fast, chaotic and they present interesting ideas other times with straightforward, heavy and violent parts and other times with cleaner tremolo riffs. Generally, they put out a solid, dark feeling which grabs the listener from the first to the last second. The tracks last as long as they need in order to unleash the atmosphere and the feelings that they want to create, with the right flow, without giving the impression of unfinished business to the listener and without becoming tedious.

The ruling instruments are, on one hand the guitars and on the other hand the drums. The bass fills the compositions nicely but without getting in the front line. The guitars are accurate and with their dark, dirty sound, they deliver the atmosphere flawlessly. The drums are storming, barbaric and at the same time played with a very technical approach and accuracy both into the slower parts. Finally, the vocals are possessed, bestial vocals, maybe closer to Death Metal patterns. The production is dark and bass. The mixture is good, emphasizing the guitar lines, but in the end delivering a very solid and balanced result. The lyrics are not contained into the cd that I received but by the titles and the general style I get that they refer to themes of Satanism and to orthodox worship while they are written in english.

Summing up, Deus Ignotus with their second full length album, they show that they have formed their style and they keep improving their ability to compose and create. Hexapterygon is a quite good release that will surely be appreciated by all the fans of brutal and bestial Black Metal. Those who don’t like this kind of sound, you won’t like this album either. I suggest you to listen to it.