Trap rhythm over furious tremolo and black metal blast beats? No one could have wished for such a combination until they heard “Adrif into Collapse,” the eighth track from Omniverse Consciousness. This happy blend is just one of the many surprises in store on the debut album from Doedsmaghird, a satellite project that came out of nowhere, courtesy of members of the already avant-garde Dødheimsgard.
While this new project, led by Norwegian musician Vicotnik (Yusaf Parvez), could easily have appeared under the Dødheimsgard banner, it is conceived as an alter ego of the latter. Døedsmaghird’s sonic universe will thus be familiar to fans of avant-garde black metal. Omniverse Consciousness features a profusion of synthesizers, electronic elements, bizarre vocals, and exploded arrangements. This ornates the tracks, which are often closer in structure to traditional black metal than the trajectory Dødheimsgard has taken in recent albums. Indeed, even if some tracks last up to eight minutes, the guitar reflexes are closer to the roots of the genre, with a succession of piercing tremolos and waltzes in minor keys. The structures are more conventional, though highly colored by the unusual arrangements.
Listening to this album, you’d swear it was a failed attempt at returning to the roots. A desire to create more simply, more crudely, but which ultimately yielded to too great an inquisitive, exploratory impulse. The result is no less phenomenal. Following on from last year’s excellent Black Medium Current, Omniverse Consciousness is like the surprise Dødheimsgard album no one expected.
