The surfacing of so called third wave of black metal is a debatable issue. Certainly we don't want to argue about it now and lose focus on the bigger picture here. The french scene with likes of Deathspell Omega (who recently ended a conceptual trilogy) and Blut Aus Nord (who are on the way of ending another trilogy) has certainly opened the door for new room of creativity and development over monotonous dreariness of black metal; many elitists may disagree here and that's completely understandable. Stretching the fact, these bands are still black metal at their core but they deal with the subject on metaphysical level rather than writing two riffs with straightforward Satanism. Improvisation takes a lot of hard work but understanding the truest meaning behind the work is more difficult. It can be frustrating too and needs a lot of brain activities in order to get even 50% of what an artist is trying to represent. So the instant impulse for most of us is to lend ears and enjoy what's going on or hate it completely. Nothing wrong with this either. The only reason I'm saying it in order to reflect the fact that not every album is for your listening pleasure, some require really deep penetration. Dodecahedron is one of those albums.
The concept of Dodecahedron may or may not be semi related to Deathspell Omega but the music alone coincides with one another closely but by no means replicating it fully. Dodecahedron is a twelve flat places of pentagonal structure which is a ratio that exists in nature and cosmos sorrounding us. Important to notice here that three vertex lines merge to form a perfect pentagram on each side which is also known to be associated with magical power. Theoretically, Dodecahedron is ever evolving and perfect solution composition wise for many factors. Bearing these concepts in mind, Dodecahedron might be the perfect name that's chosen for the complexion represented on the album. Take a closer look at the album cover art designed by vocalist M. Eikenaar- pentagonal structure encrypted with a mixture of black and white also emphasizing these aforementioned facts more. The deep level of vision with which Dodecahedron launched is the most striking part.
The shattering dissonance, alien guitar tunes with absonant riffing and avant garde elements are highlights throughout the album. With the usage of sound synthesis utilizing a different kind of technique, exceptional atmospheric layers had been built by M. Nienhuis along with J. Bonis (M. Nienhuis played guitar who is also the composer and co producer for Dodecahedron). The catastrophic album opener Allfather sets the tone straight making way for similarly chaotic but more complex I, Chronocrator as the name implicates so too; the structure of bass notes and dissonant layers implied on this track create shivers down the spine like hollow atmosphere. Vanitas is a mixture of slow and mid paced passages showing variations in vocal pitching layered with jazz infused progression. The eerie interlude Descending Jacob's Ladder will make you feel like you are steadily falling inside a black abyss where a blackened beast at the bottom is wating for devouring you. And that blackened beast is Hverfell (the name refers to the tephracrater that resulted from violent and explosive eruption). The mammoth View From Hverfell is divided into three parts alternating abrupt changes in the flow with tremolo and low end riffing while maintaining the discord atmosphere. The ultra complex chord progression is beyond my understanding to be able to write something especially on View From Hverfell III.
The album is organized in such a brilliant way that you can feel the synergy between music, art and concept. It shows the clarity of vision and the sense of purpose with which they want to come forward. Following the footsteps of their predecessors and infusing lots of innovative ideas, Dodecahedron has pushed the contemporary black metal boundary. They have unearthed such a record which is way ahead of its time; the mind can't consume it.
===================================== DODECAHEDRON - 'Dodecahedron' Debut Album by ddchdrn
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