Deformation of shadows in uncanny defiance. — Brilliant is the dawn’s arrival from light mounted-high, glorious the shade beneath the star that wakes the world by a thousand peritrichous tendrils daggering their reach in this circle of gleaming death. That which tightens with every inch of ascension promised by the “lawless” Τυφῶν and the beckoning eyes of the mother of all monstrosities is the natural mutation of flesh under the eustress of solar radiation and daimonian wrenching of blood from soil. To defy as spiritual tenet, to seek the eudaimonian current of Φωσφόρος, is a necessary adaptation to the doom that lingers above, pressing slow the serpent’s coil upon the habitable unto dim and demolished wreckage. So rises the dark sun, the third promethean creation of Athens, Greece-based black metal quartet Heretic Cult Redeemer who present their latest full-length album at a point of irrepressible vibrancy, a high-minded and ambitious work of occult black metal untamed and given to foreboding alchemical concoct. ‘Flagellum Universalis‘ is an hourlong invocation of the unknown, a dizzying celebration of the defiant nature of man under influence of the beast, built to showcase unnatural skill in diabolically restless application of nigh ‘progressive’ black metal craft.

Heretic Cult Redeemer formed circa 2009 by way of original Acrimonious vocalist Funus alongside two other members, bassist D. and guitarist/co-songwriter T., with the eventual addition of drummer V. (Necrovorous, ex-Resurgency) and in many ways their focus was in line with what’d been brewing in the minds of other Greek groups in the early 2010’s wherein the occult-spiritual/orthodox style of black metal found purchase in debuts from poetic scholars Serpent Noir, visionary singularity Thy Darkened Shade and of course Acrimonious, too. When the band’d released their self-titled debut (‘Heretic Cult Redeemer‘, 2013) it was an impressive feat defined by bold vocals and raw rhythm guitar strokes that’d spoken to an imaginative approach to aggression, a style built from religious boldness into semi-dissonant twisting form. This was an impressive point of inception but not at all the full mastery we would find several years beyond that point. Some core line-up changes meant their follow-up and second full-length (‘Kelevsma‘, 2018) was a thoroughly evolved beast, a feat bursting with declarative energy from the first song which refined their work to a higher performative standard. That sophomore record remains grossly underrated, in fact I’m not sure how I’d missed it at the time beyond not having immediate access. The upgrade found therein reflected increasingly virtuosic performances, almost a progressive death metallic touch applied to occult black metal without necessarily reaching for tech-death tautness. Five years later they’ve prepared an equally grand step beyond the last.

A religion of self-perfection, of the singularity’s limitless potential. — ‘Kelevsma‘ set expectations insanely high for what would come next, to the point that ‘Flagellum Universalis‘ feels like the umpteenth draft, papers and azoth scattered about a dark room as a thoroughly considered and composed feat has been entirely freed from their veins. This goes beyond “following up” in terms of scope and variety of phrase, to the point that I’d begin to suggest these folks’ve breached a paradigm apart for album number three; Without being able to discern between the implied guitarist/bassist Tempest and former (or the same?) guitarist T. while also not recognizing guitarist N3 I’m not sure how to frame credit for the insanely charged and creatively brimming dual guitar compositions found on Heretic Cult Redeemer‘s third album beyond glowing admiration for their use of technical ability to craft outrageous and often wholly memorable movements throughout the bulk of this fairly long and ambitious record. In this sense folks who’d been deeply invested in Thy Darkened Shade‘s most recently full-length can find a record similarly charged by spiritual devotion expressed by way of meticulous arrangements and outrageous acts which are not limited to squarely black metal influences.

The mystification available to occult symbolism in bloom immediately characterizes Heretic Cult Redeemer‘s introduction with “Lunar Reign – Lunar Apogee” wherein the ecstasy of the divine and shadowy interactions of celestial bodies are seemingly represented in dual guitar compositions which are polyphonic without a clear leader in either channel and not limited to only two voices. The effect is immediately engaging, akin to being dropped into a maze and gaining a notion of the way forward per the vantage point of falling, wherein the ringing chords and exceptional physiognomy of the drummers work somehow avoid the sensation of chaotic upheaval. The rhythmic grasp of this band is entirely experting in stance, able to convey ecstasy through movement without reaching for complete madness, and somehow even moreso than it’d been on ‘Kelevsma‘. There’d been no choice given when that first song hit, I’d have to take ‘Flagellum Universalis‘ seriously, driven to siphon all available features and meaning from this landscape, having decided this even before the affirming wiles of “Intoxication Divine” struck. The real point of gushing, perhaps over the top praise for this experience comes with this song and its scaling features. A veritable tornado of escalating guitar work invokes 90’s progressive death metal as much as it does late 2000’s orthodox Satanic black metal in movement by way of an especially fine bass guitar driver, quickly cascading movement and semi-dissonant ringing all of which present a whirling sense of movement which’d captivated me on every single full listen of this album right from the start.

This ends up being a first plateau for the general standard set as Heretic Cult Redeemer follow this path in both more directly spectacular ways without hesitating to lean into even more tuneful moments. The visceral growl of the basslines that launch “Ascending Perfection” are matched by a more snarling register from the vocals and the perpetually turning nature of its main riff not only extend the momentum of the rhythmic finesse found throughout the album but already surpass the more sectioned phrasing of ‘Kelevsma‘ with an even more excitable fluidity. The verve of the first half of the album, its many guitar techniques and overall impressive register has largely revealed its modus within the first three or four songs, though we continue to get variations in pacing and feeling within that central voice moving forward, such as the Sinmara-esque hum of “The Woven Chords of Ecstasy”, another highlight for my own taste. ‘Flagellum Universalis‘ hasn’t shot its shot entirely in terms of impressive feats, in fact I feel compelled to compliment every single track here… the majesty of “Grave Sophia – Breath of the Night” is yet another peaking moment among many, but the greater tabula has generally revealed by the mid-point.

For those not exhausted by the first two acts the third plateau of ascension here, or, the last three pieces offer a ramping of up chorales, clean vocals and begin to release the kudzu of the experience and let their poison sink in. While the pacing and dissonant voicing does not relent the duo of “Primeval Cognition” pieces lean into broader rhythmic strokes, heightened melodrama in a clear upward and outward direction which “Eye of the Saturnian Dawn” makes possible, its middle third manifesting as a great break in the darkening sky. The hysteria of the record hasn’t necessarily ceased but its cinematic lens has zoomed out to present a wider-screened conclusion. In some sense I could’ve been just as happy if this album had cut off with just the first six songs, perhaps moreso for the sake of readable brevity and not the narrative composition of the experience. Within a full hour spin I’d had to initially pause to reflect with my own intermissions to comprehend and appreciate the high rate of statement Heretic Cult Redeemer set within each piece. I wouldn’t do without the last third of the full listen though I do believe that it could’ve just as well served as an epilogue or addendum. That’ll obviously depend on your attention span or how immersive the whole of the experience ends up being per your own taste.

Whereas past works had been pure bolts of corruption prone to explore the fallout of their attack ‘Flagellum Universalis‘ celebrates the radiation itself, less an exploration of the “contrarian” inherent to all human beings but the dissatisfaction of the outlaw, the trait of the non-participant and its causation from a spiritual-intellectual point of view. It’d seem that whatever change in perspective, or, angle of approach Heretic Cult Redeemer have taken here they’ve found an exceptional fire to feed their work and the results were undeniable in their quality and resonance as I’d spent more and more time with this third LP. The balance of memorable and gratifying melodious values with brutal yet sophisticated action makes for an album that does fine work in tributing and extending the reach of the broadly defined spectrum of occult and/or ‘orthodox’ black metal. Finest yet work which will still read as signature for existing fans. A very high recommendation.

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