VIRVEL AV MORKERHATET – Metamorphosia

Virvel Av Morkerhatet – Metamorphosia (2016, Avantgarde Music)

Virvel Av Morkerhatet was formed from the ruins of the band Den Of Winter in 2008 and in 2010 released the debut album Forsaken Hate Sickness, mainly including material accumulated over the years of the Den of Winter existence. In 2013 the band changed their course and started to work on the second full-length album, which was going to mark a new era of Virvel Av Morkerhatet.

Presented as an avantgarde black metal outfit and a mix of Ved Buens Ende and Deathspell Omega, the Ukrainians of Virvel Av Morkerhatet have made a ten songs album that is interesting but that doesn’t delivers as the promo wants it to be.

They obviously walk the path of avantgarde black metal but with a timid incursion in the avantgarde genre. Even the earlier Arcturus, which was an outstanding understanding of black metal and its deconstruction, was more ambitious than Virvel Av Morkerhatet’s entry in the genre.

With that put aside, is Metamorphosia a decent metal album? To ask the question is to answer it. In fact it is better than decent but the promess of the promo people is a bit deceiving and I would have been pleased to have a black metal genre label stock on it instead of a subgenre of a subgenre categorization.

The drum parts by Astaroth (Balfor, Chapter V:F10, Deferum Sacrum, Raventale, P’hevda Phenomenon) are technical and have the right progressive infuse that it takes to elevate this record to a higher end black metal entry. The vocal job is separated between Graakh, also on bass, and Howler (Chapter V:F10, Astral Lueur), on guitars, are respectable representative of clean and screamed black metal vocals.

The main complaint, except for the pinned genre of the album, would be a lack of editing and a cut into some lenghty songs to tighten and make this album a more efficient one with the same elements.

6.8