ADAESTUO – Tacent Semitae
- by Peter Loftus
- Posted on 15-01-2017
Tacent Semitae is the debut mini album from Finnish/US/Belgian act Adaestuo. Notably the Finnish part is VJS of Sargeist/Nightbringer/Kult of Azazel fame.
This is some very modern-sounding tenebrous, anti-cosmic BM that nonetheless has an extremely driving aggressive engine. Usually this is the kind of thing that really appeals to me but this time around my appreciation struggled to find a handhold. Yes, the atmosphere is dense and pervasive. Yes, it is kvlt and ritualistic. Yes, the darkness is compelling and the ghoulishly ethereal vocals of Hekte Zaren work particularly well, but overall this is just a little too amorphous to call me back and ultimately a little disappointing for that reason.
What really damages chances of me liking this is that tracks 2 and 4 are (broadly speaking) ambient pieces. This is something I have zero interest in so do please keep that in mind when considering the score above!