FIVE THE HIEROPHANT – Through Aureate Void
- Posted on 25-02-2021
The sinister British ensemble known as Five the Hierophant is something out of the ordinary and this brand-new opus of theirs is a seriously accomplished one and a monument of emotion and atmosphere.
What exactly is "Through Aureate Void"? Imagine if renowned composer Angelo Badalamenti decided to join a blackened doom metal outfit and score a soundtrack for the darkest David Lynch film yet to come with his new musical compatriots. Would that be a fitting description? Labeling this slow-motion doom metal with a post-shoegaze feel to it would not be entirely accurate either; I would instead argue that it falls somewhere between crushing doom metal and psychedelic jazz with dark ambient undertones to it. This is unnerving and frightening stuff and it really does get under one’s skin the more one listens to it. Strange harmonies, dissonant tones, and soundscapes that are not of this earth are what this dangerously addictive piece of work holds. Implementing the words and voice of Ezra Pound is a brilliant move and adds an incredible amount of substance and depth to the proceedings while those monstrous, pulverizing riffs and hypnotic guitars work to maximum effect throughout. Do not even get me started on what the saxophone contributes to the mood of these five lengthy compositions. The instrumentation is not as traditional as one might think and the brooding aura of the record most certainly is not either. It all hovers and float somewhere between the savage and the deceptively ethereal across its 52 immersive minutes and occult metal has rarely sounded better or more convincing than it does here.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are in fact dealing with a flawless masterpiece here and quite possibly one of the very best records to have seen the light of day in the past few years. Your life will never be the same again after having absorbed and digested its rich content and this is an impeccable and unique work of art that is musically incomparable to all other bands and albums out there. Mark my words when I say that "Through the Aureate" might well end up as my favorite LP of the year. Heck, for all I know this could be one of the most memorable outputs of the decade!