Following their self-titled demo, Icelandic Black Metallers VONLAUS recently released an EP via Mystiskaos. Time to return to the murky psychosis that seems abundant in their homeland.
Distorted and disturbing sampling and noise starts things off with nursery rhymes to truly twist your mind before thundering bass and melodic guitars over pounding drums glide into fruition with harmonic and dissonant beauty. Haunting vocals are screamed over the scathing instrumentals which bare heavy resemblance to countrymen Misthyrming, certainly not a criticism. Twinkling with that gorgeous sense of melody and disharmony that Icelandic bands seem to have mastered, this is a resonant and brooding concoction of melancholy and bitterness that is just as warped as one could hope for from another killer Mystiskaos artist. Soaring through elementally charged convulsions of Black Metal ecstasy, this is some gloriously tight and expansive music to try to wrap the brain around. Blissfully progressing, the four offerings showcase some of the most musically proficient, desolate and yet strangely uplifting material that one could hope for. A relatively new entity that seems to have mastered their craft so early, Vonlaus have captured my intrigue.
Charging forth, the powerful vocal invocations soar over contorting instrumentals from the crushing array of drums to cascading waves of lead and rhythm riffs, equally vanquishing in their magnificent glimmer of introspective and melancholic glory. The fearsome grooves we see indicate a catchiness while never getting to simple to feel any less psychedelic. Perhaps not as insane as the likes of Wormlust and Skaphe, this is the kind of Icelandic Black Metal that will leave a spectral imprint on your very being while having your mind meditating in unknown voids, an impressive feat for a record that lasts less than 20 minutes. This project is clearly self aware, these four conjurations are deliberate and precise, taking the very essence of your being, distorting it and representing it to the void that is left. Rebuilding from this shell with sonic prowess of remarkable proportions, there is so much to gain on a personal and musical level from listening to this EP.
This is one of those records that somehow passed me by, yet seems to have found me all the same. For that I am particularly grateful as not only did this provide me with a glorious piece of music to indulge in, but I have the privilege of spreading the word to you readers. Do not make my mistake, allow the chilling nuances of Vonlaus to possess your psyche, revel in their disdainful flame and be one with the entities this luminescent soundscape draws into existence. -9/10
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