Involtation

This marks approximately where Lucifugum really settles into the new raw style they've made for themselves. Lucifugum's mid-era albums are kind of confusing and clearly the sound of a band trying to find a new place for itself once they felt they were done with symphonic black metal, and 'The Supreme Art of Genocide' was clearly an instance of them finally nailing what they were going for, but 'Involtation' is really the deciding work. This is where Lucifugum relaxes into their style a bit; it's a very conventional release (perhaps the most conventional of all their latter-era material) without a ton of ambition to it. It's not bad, but it is definitely a step down from the excellent previous album, and one of those few releases by the band where it just doesn't feel like they were trying that hard.

In a nutshell, this is a partner to 'The Supreme Art of Genocide' but, yet again, more restrained and normal than that album, which itself was a step back from 'Vector33'. At this point, though, it's starting to sound too much like conventional Ukrainian raw black metal: the riffs are shorter and not as complex, the perplexing drum patterns are now typical rock and metal beats, and even the vocals sound a little less poisonous (though still well executed). Most of the riffs on this album still have that particular Medieval feel that Lucifugum does so well, but the sheer ambition of them is gone- they're much more conventional and in line with Ukrainian BM melodic sensibilities than before. In fact, this might be one of the most 'normal' black metal albums I've ever heard from Lucifugum. In all honesty, it's a little disappointing- even if it wasn't always good, Lucifugum always had some ambition to them which put them above a lot of their contemporaries in my eyes. That's mostly gone here.

That being said, I can't say that this is a bad album- just an above average one. Lucifugum's grasp of riffcraft is still stronger than almost anything in Blazebirth Hall, and while I'd appreciate the band taking some more time to craft truly memorable melodies as they did on the previous album, there's moments in here that are just as good, such as the impressively intricate riff in the middle of 'Onorovlivanie', which absolutely sounds like something from the 'The Supreme Art of Genocide' sessions. The increased emphasis on slow passages is a bit hit or miss, but I appreciate the greater tempo variation this time around- the oppressive yet erudite, almost doomy sections do add a welcome dimension to what's otherwise somewhat static music. The production's just a little bit fuller, and I actually really like the drum sound on this one, especially the hollow, battering snare which sounds like it's off an old Gorgoroth record. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to enjoy on this record- it's just a step down from the direction the band was heading in on the previous one.

This may be the most archetypal late Lucifugum record out there- it tends to be a lot of people's first album by them. It's not bad if you find it for a decent price, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. It's definitely not part of the essential Lucifugum canon and you can live without it, though it definitely has enough solid material to satisfy any underground black metal fan.

Lucifugum’s “twelfth cup of poison” (as the band themselves describe this album) presents eight tracks of melodic yet extremely raw black metal. The band also view this album as an insult to the “scene” full of wormy human instincts. Well, I only have my wormy human instincts to rely on for this review but I’ll do my best nonetheless, OK?

First some words about the production. The guitars sound like a swarm of wasps, extremely distorted and with no bottom end whatsoever. The bass is slightly distorted and can actually be heard every now and then, it could it be a bit higher in the mix though. The drums are very unevenly mixed. I can’t hear any bass drums at all and the toms are almost inaudible as well. The snare can be heard loud and clear but it has a very annoying hollow sound to it, which pisses me off. This kind of production is something only the diehards will be able to cope with. The album this production can be compared to the most is Graveland’s “Following the Voice of Blood”, except for the fact that the guitars are even more distorted on “Involtation”. I’d go as far as saying that the production destroys some of the potential the material has and with a better production this album would’ve received an even higher rating from me.

As for the music itself, it’s not bad at all and should satisfy everyone into extreme black metal. The riffs are melodic and quite technical, reminding me mostly of old Abigor stuff (especially “Verwüstung – Invoke the Dark Age”). In other words, “Involtation” has nothing to do with the traditional Ukrainian BM sound. For example “Siyayuschie Molchanie”, “Predely Nepostizhimogo”, “Ritualy Proistekayuschego” and “Onorovlivanie” are all real killer tracks in the style of old Abigor. Most of the time the guitars play totally different melodies at the same time. This makes the songs a bit chaotic and it takes a while to get into them properly (the production doesn’t help matters much either). The first times I listened to this album the guitars sounded like nothing more than a buzzing chaos but the more you listen, the more you’ll understand. Stabaath’s vocals are good and quite high in the mix. She certainly sounds like enough of a lunatic to front a band like Lucifugum. Due to the production, I recommend this only to those who like their BM really raw and have nerves of steel. Raise this cup of poison to your lips and taste some pure nihilism and misantrophy!