I first discoverd the Italian band Mascharat in 2017, after the release of their 1st full length S/T album (Seance Records), which unfortunately I was unable to review on these pages. I found that album extremely captivating and to this day I listen to it with great pleasure, as I consider it one of the best black metal albums that were released in the recent years.
I had no idea that a new Mascharat album will come out any time soon until 2 weeks ago, when I received the promo kit from the band. Ars Aurea Mortis, their sophomore record to date, came out on the 31st of January via the French label Remparts Productions, so now I can finally present you the first album review of the year and my first review of a Mascharat record. Justice has been finally done.
Released 9 years after their excellent debut album, this second opus is an outstanding piece of occult sonic art. 9 years in between records may seem like a long time to some, but after spinning the new record several times, I totally understand why the band chose this approach. To release an album every 1 or 2 years is easy, but if you want your work to be really special, you have to give it time. And I think this is exactly what happened with Ars Aurea Mortis. The result is not a generic black metal album released only for the sake of statistics, this record really means something.
Even if it follows quite closely in the steps of its predecessor, the new album feels more like a concept album, full of symbolism and hidden messages. If I got it right (hope I’m not wrong about it), the recurrent theme is the transformation of the being through various means, the alchemical process being just a way to express it.
Atmosphere like, the band has taken things a step forward and the 8 hymns on Ars Aurae Mortis are even more suffocating, just like the heavy sulphur vapours which emanate from the 4 musicans’ magical crucibles. The tempo is mostly fast and hypnotic, with chilling riffs and merciless blast beats that give no respite. But Mascharat also knows when to slow things down as well, introducing mid tempo passages, bombastic interludes and acustic guitars which create a perfect balance between the sheer aggression and the more melodic parts (ex. Albedo, Citrinitas or Lapis).
While the album’s center of gravity is based on the 4 main alchemical processes used to create the infamous magnum opus (Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubedo), Ars Aurea Mortis is a sinister yet captivating journey in 6 chapters (with a piano driven Intro and Outro), which represent transformation and reaching the spiritual perfection through music. Musically, this is true black metal, with a real occult atmosphere, with intelligent and well written lyrics, devoid of any idiotic mumbo jumbo that plagues the modern trendy “scene”. Among other topics, the lyrics deal also with literature (King Midas and his donkey ears, Virgil and his Eclogues), philosophy (Silentium est Aureum) or forbidden arts (Ars Goetia).
Just like the melted metal slowly flows into the crucibles, the songs on Ars Aurea Mortis flow one into the other smoothly, infusing the album with an organic fluidity all throughout its 41 minutes. From the Intro to the Outro everything is a whole, a magical circle within which the musicians have transmuted their ideas into the great completion. The excellent production allows the instruments to manifest in all their glory, while the harsh black metal vocals are very clear in the mix and with a little effort you might even understand the lyrics.
Speaking about the lyrics, I appreciate more and more the bands who write and sing in their native language instead of an overused English language. Just as they did on the first album, the band has printed again the English translation of the lyrics in the booklet, for all the non Italian speakers out there. Reading the carefully crafted booklet, I feel as if discovering an old and forbidden grimoire, whose dusty pages have been adorned by a skillfull hand with alchemical drawings and sigils of powerful and ancient demons (Berith, Decarabia).
I cannot end this review without mentioning the amazing album cover created by Gozer Visions, which basically translates visually what the lyrics and the music are about. Rubedo, (Redness), the final stage has been achieved and the great work has been successfully created, as shown by the majestic solar figure (Sol Invictus?) holding the caducaeus, in front of whom the humble alchemist prostrates in great awe. (As a tip, an A3 poster of the album artwork comes for free with the cd, believe me it is worth if you buy the cd it).
Bands like Mascharat give me hope that real black metal, with deep essence and meaning, still exists and can still be made. You only have to search deep among the rubble to find the true gems. And if this review was not enough, I urge you again to check this band out, both of its albums are definitely worth buying.
“ Non Serviam, Azoth comanda
Alla croce e alla spada, Non Serviam“
Band links:
https://mascharat.bandcamp.com/album/ars-aurea-mortis
https://www.facebook.com/Mascharat
https://www.instagram.com/mascharat_official/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCipNrjKcorm38oo-CJOqEWA
MASCHARAT – Ars Aurea Mortis Tracklist:
1.Intro
2.Re Mida
3.Nigredo
4.Albedo
5.Citrinitas
6.Remida
7.Lapis
8.Outro
MASCHARAT Line-Up:
Hellequin – Vocals, guitars
Grimr – guitars
Stilleben – bass, effects, backing vocals
Cutirons – drums
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