OBSEQUIAE - The Palms Of Sorrowed Kings
20 Buck Spin
Years ago you had these hipsters saying black metal needs to progress in order to be taken seriously. Then they touted bands who were merely taking modern day sounds (ie: post punk, shoegaze, industrial/electronica or prog rock) and adding some blast beats and harsh vocals. Yeah it all sucked but then again that's what you would expect from a non metal affiliated person.
The black metal genre never needed to leave the template in order to find new avenues for influences. It already had a few hundred years of past musical inspiration to meld with. So when I first got into OBSEQUIAE back in 2011 with their debut, Suspended in the Brume of Eos, I was an instant fan. The incorporation of pagan folk medieval sounds into black metal was genius. Of course it was also something Varg Vikernes tried to do but, because of his circumstances at the time, failed. At least WINDIR had some better success at it but not as good as this.
This is OBSEQUIAE third full length and since following this band over the years I can say they haven't lost sight of their blackened medieval beginnings. In fact they've elevated their sound to the level of epic grandeur. The formula provided is still the same. You have organic folk instrumental pieces interspersed between medieval influenced melodic black metal. It all makes for an amazing listening experience. I've been saying for decades now that black metal can be exquisite and beautiful. And here it is.
As always multi-instrumentalist Tanner Anderson takes charge of the vocals and the basic stringed instruments (aka: guitar and bass). Then you have the add on instruments like the hurdy gurdy, the Hammered dulcimer (a percussion-stringed instrument) then the Bowed psaltery (a plucked or bow played instrument) and the mizhar drum, plus the zill (finger cymbals). He also employs a few guests on vocals and guitar.
Also on this release he's accompanied by Eoghan McCloskey on drums. The man's timing and precision work so well with music. Finally the specialist on Medieval harp, Vicente La Camera Marino, returns. Yes he was on the last album and his work on here is more inclusive than before. With all of that said, The Palms Of Sorrowed Kings is a melodic black metal masterpiece.
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