Released through I, Voidhanger Records comes from the depths of France known as Esoctrilihum. A well experimented, occultist, darkness themed style of black metal but also using heavy concentrations of avantgarde, Esoctrilihum is a French black metal band fronted by vocalist, songwriter and instrumentalist Asthâghul have created a album that I wasn’t entirely sure if this clicked in with me but was I wrong, this is the type of black metal that will take multiple listens for the average listener. Now, the style of black metal and avantgarde is putting butter on a piece of bread. It’s creamy, tasty, and sometimes it can be extremely tough on the edges. But however, if Morbid Angel, Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus Nord and Howls of Ebb all joined forces to make the most tormented, twisted, destructive, sovereign, and skull-accursing style of extreme music this is what Esoctrilihum is all about.
From the beautiful album art to the magnificent production values, this album demonstrates wide variety of mixed elemental genres including black metal, ambient, death, and atmospheric black metal to the more blackened signatures and touches gives the album a thoughtful narrative story of many metaphors, subjects and topics that are surely worth the read since the songwriting is full of intelligence and it’ll suck you in to a world filled with progression and losing your subconscious. It’s quite the experience hearing this release simply because combining various genres of different branches and arrangements generally isn’t really everyone’s cup of tea and even when the instrumentations are wide and often times unexpected as there’s so much discovery that is within the album’s enjoyment to set the listener’s mind into a jaw-dropping universe.
While Asthâghul manages to retain originality and dynamic surprises, you’ll be amazed to hear top-notch musicianship, capable of intricate modern riffs as well as some introspective melodies, and all without running into any jumpy transitions just makes the record naturalistic. If you love your black metal experimented, darkened and appreciate it’s embodiment of past Esoctrilihum releases, Dy’th Requiem for the Serpent Telepath not only deserves your immediate listen and attention, it is recommended for many fans of the extreme metal spectrum.
Overall Score: 9.0/10
Review by Jake Butler
