SOTHERION Vermine DIGIPAK [CD]

Sotherion's crushing debut album, coming as Digipak CD, incl 12 pages booklet.

Spawned by the mind of infamous composer BST (Aosoth, The Order of Apollyon) in total isolation, in the midst of the first lockdown of 2020, SOTHERION is a one-man project paying homage to the late ‘80s and early ‘90s second wave of black metal. Inspired by disgust for the modern world and its deification of mediocrity and glorification of rats, and motivated by a search for old ways of recording razor-sharp guitars and low-pulsing kick drums, the debut demo Schwarmgeist came to be in a heartbeat, acting as a beacon for what was next to come.
 
A punishing and pestilent experience, Vermine encompasses 10 tracks across 44 minutes. "The creative process leading to this album was centered around a type of sound, first and foremost," BST reveals. "Every guitar riff is meant to emphasize this raw style of production, widely reminiscent of the early '90s - minimalistic music to leave enough room for the gurgling harmonics of the saturated strings to develop." Indeed, every blistering tone and texture here feels like razor-wire dragged across the flesh (and FAST), but with disharmony flowing just as fast and freely, the sum effect is one of disorientation and delirium giving way to inevitable implosion. Put another way, you don't just try to "listen" to Vermine; rather, you merely try to survive. "Suffocating" is another way to put it...or an air-raid siren made manifest.

Not surprisingly, content matches form for SOTHERION. As BST explains further, "Lyrically, the various themes revolve around a darkened view of reality, the ever-decaying modern world, the instinct to welcome the death of all as the ultimate goal of the human experiment - not devoid of a certain very cynical and morbid form of humor, mocking everything sacred and everything beautiful." That mockery just might extend to the listener himself, depending on one's spiritual coordinates coming into Vermine.

Schwarmgeist was released without warning, preparing the masses for the inevitable infection of Vermine - but perhaps that wasn't enough preparation for the full fathom of SOTHERION. Hereby shall French black metal be renewed by consecrating its blood pact with the past. This is no more and no less than what the modern world deserves! / NTB