Recently our beloved reviewer Kaar wrote a story about another reissue from this Australian one-man black/doom project Elysian Blaze. That was for his 2006 record Levitating The Carnal which was reissued by Osmose Productions. That same company also reissued the 2004 demo cassette Beneath Silent Faces on record, which lies before me now. With one bonus track that is! A great Christmas record indeed, if I do say so myself.

 

And I mean that in the most sincere way I can. Lately I’ve been developing a great love for black/doom bands and their harsh, depressing and cold music. Played at crawling tempos of course. I do not have much material to compare Elysian Blaze to as of yet, but I certainly hear influences of the great Xasthur. Also resemblances to MOSS and even the legendary Striborg can be made. Extremely depressing, atmospheric black doom metal, suitable for playing on Christmas eve, alone, a razor blade within reach and a bottle of red wine. Sounds familiar?

 

The recording quality is shit, and therefore it is good. This band would sound like poop if it were to have an actual studio budget. Beneath Silent Faces would lose all of its credibility, atmosphere and would just basically miss the point completely. I’m glad that mister Mutatiis chose to do it the right way, for it resulted in a very evil and dark, depressing record that got me interested in his other releases. Keep an eye out for this project if you hate Christmas, and the rest of the world.