Thy Darkened Shade have created the most diabolical, satanic and occult theme style of black metal that transcends the listener into a world full of gnosticism. They’ve crafted in what appears to be their most explosive, explorative and progressive driven records they’ve done to date. Liber Lvcifer II-Mahapralaya is their latest offering and is the continuation to 2014’s sophomore recording of Liber Lvcifer I: Khem Sedjet which was a conceptual album that showcased the band what they’re all about in music theory. Portraying themes revolving different lyrical content really established themselves to push the envelope for the underground black metal scene.
Musically, this is full on black metal adrenaline pumping record that features the band’s tightest, heaviest and darkest album that makes the listener being dragged down into Lucifer’s manifestations through the deepest voids possible. As far as musicianship goes, the amount of talent poured into this record is an absolute blast to really hear the destruction and chaos in which the instrumentation work feels like a everlasting fire that never stops burning and this is exactly what I like in black metal. There’s moments on the record during the second half of Liber Lvcifer II-Mahapralaya where I’ve noticed the band started to incorporate melodic black metal signatures in the mix alongside some very unique avantgarde arrangements as if this album was made during the mid to late 90’s but in today’s modern-day era.
Tracks such as Acausal Current of Thanatos, Typhonian Temple, Veneration for the Fireborn King and Sathanastasis have the traditional Thy Darkened Shade sound but there is a lining where the band decided to use some symphonic elements in the songs in which it reminds me of early Emperor with the melodic counterparts of Dissection and dissonant passages from Deathspell Omega which isn’t a bad thing in my eye since each song stands out to bring new distinctive flavorings without sounding dull or forced. Regardless, Liber Lvcifer II-Mahapralaya is artistic, accessible and reckoning that fans of the genre will find something to enjoy to past the time.
Overall score-9/10
Review by Jake Butler
