The Complex Bewitchment

The symphonic black metal is a musical genre that is really hard to appreciate for those who are not completely in this music. There was a period in the past in which I was so curious about new bands in this kind of black metal and when I came across Mactatus I was quite stunned: this band had no less technique or songwriting than greatest names in the scene and, despite this, they never reached that status they deserved.

I already reviewed the previous album and this one follows the same lines in music but this time with a clearer production. All the instruments are perfectly audible and the hyper pounding-clear production is better for the majestic keyboards lines this music needs to be so dark and mysterious. “Ornament of Pettiness” is sumptuous and alternates several brutal parts with some more melodic and a bit gothic oriented with intermezzo by clean vocals.

“Another Dimension” has a constant base by the keyboards. Anyway, they are never dull or annoying but quite evil and right to create a dramatic, mysterious and dark atmosphere. The parts I like the most are the ones when the drums enter with malevolence creating a bombastic wall of sound. The blast beats are never too fast but perfect because more hammering than fast to support better this music. Anyway, the great part of the work in this case is done by the bass drum.

The tempo changes are always present and we never find too sugary or weak melodies. This band has grown a lot in these years and everything seems better structured and complete. The fast black metal breaks are perfectly stuck in the songs to create a good balance of hyper blasting moments to dreaming, odd and dark melodies. The vocals are the classic symphonic black metal scream that anyway, is never too extreme. Sometimes it turns to growls too.

“Speak the Word of the Wind” is the most diverse track of this album. It’s weird at the beginning to turn really dark when the instruments enter. This time the tempo is not so fast but the drumming is restless for the bass drum. After this song it’s time for “With Excellence…” to break in. It’s another great track with lots of tempo changes and melodies in fast succession. The ones at the beginning (the same after the refrain) are simply majestic in their sound. The keyboards are so powerful and evocative.

“Iron Handed” is more complex in the guitar’s riffage with lots of different parts while “Complexity In Vain” is characterized by sudden angry moments in which the band really points on the sheer impact of the guitars and drums. In these two songs the melodies are mostly obscure or even a bit hidden to privilege the brutality and the obscurity. “Dance Of Might” is almost completely made of up tempo. The doom part at the beginning is easily destroyed after few minutes.

Overall, it’s another very good album by this band. This time you can hear the improvements in songwriting and production. The songs are more complex and even if they don’t always point on the melody, they can be good and really enjoyable. The complex riffage and the great dark melodies are the trademarks for this very good third album.

This is a very easy review to do, because after listening to this disc about seven times now, it all boils down to this: Enthrone Darkness Triumphant clone. Even worse, it’s not nearly as good or even remotely as memorable as the aforementioned album (part of this is due to the generally midpaced song structures- and the fast parts are not that fast either). Everything on this album reeks of ripoff, from the Enthrone… sound to the Moonspell-like vocals on track #1. The vocalist sounds unconvincing as anyone can be, and truthfully, this whole album lacks aggression and evil feeling expected of any black (or “blackish”) album. I almost laugh at how pathetic the vocalist sounds when he says “I killed Jesus” in the second track- with vocals as plagued with anemia as his, you would be hard-pressed to believe he killed a fly. Track three sounds a bit like Dimmu’s “In Death’s Embrace”, only not as good or catchy. Are we overstressing the point already? Good, because this album is as mediocre as they come. Don’t let the cover lady in the black wig seduce you with her pretty nipples, there’s nothing of interest inside for the discriminating black metal fan.

(Originally written by me for http://www.infernaldominion.com/ still on hiatus as of May 13 2005)

Though it wll no doubt anger many to hear this, I must confess, with the first few tracks of this excellent Norwegian band's artfully - packaged release, I was convinced I was listening to the 'real' follow-up to Dimmu Borgir's "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant"! Or, at least, what the next Borgir CD should sound like...

The similar melodies and crisp production, though quite similar, soon evolve into a decidedly more raw direction, leaving the likeness to Roxette on steroids far behind...

In particular, the technical drum work is outstanding, while the guitar riffs are eerily reminiscent of Galder's work in Old Man's Child. Could it just be the new, slightly more commercially acceptable 'Norwegian sound'? The keyboards have me thinking yes, while the vocals are pure and charged with energy.

Not to leave of with the comparisons, I could have sworn the intro to track 4, 'Speak the Word of the Winds' was straight from a Cradle of Filth release! The blistering pace and supreme vocals save this track, as well as the rest of the CD.

Track 5, 'With Excellence' is just that - and then some! An all out riff war, much more believable - arguably, in spite of the over-produced sound and majestic synth work.

Fans of Mystic Circle will enjoy this work, no doubt as will followers of O.M.C. and Dimmu - yet there is enough viciousness to satisfy even the tastes of this die-hard Darkthrone fan. It must be the vocals - in my humble opinion, the saving grace of the entire project.

Straight from Norway Mactätus’ THE COMPLEX BEWITCHMENT is a 38-minute mixed bag of Dimmu Borgir’s “evil” synth-metal, with some Old Man’s Child and post-Anthems Emperor riffs mixed haphazardly in the fray.

It is hard to take this album seriously when everything about it points to a blatant cash-grab by a sullen-faced group of youngsters afraid to come out from under the skirts of Old Man’s Child or Dimmu, when everything about the album only exemplifies its hilarity. From the semi-nude, heavily painted Goth woman drawing on the cover (pictured several more times throughout), the forlorn-looking band members looking sadly as if someone kicked their cat, to the tepid, cookie-cutter Norwegian synthetic “pseudo-BM” style that has infiltrated the scene, there is nothing original about the band.

With the lack of originality established, there is nothing inherently wrong with the music itself. Certainly, songwriting is an issue with this sextet, but they pull a competent Dimmu Borgir/OMC clone act. Out of the 8 tracks on this album, only two tracks, “The Passage (To The Kingdom Of No Return),” and “Speak The Word Of The Winds” managed to capture my attention, though the interest in the entire album quickly waned.

The only metal fans that would be interested by THE COMPLEX BEWITCHMENT are those of Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, and Old Man’s Child. Those fans should stick to the catalogs of those bands instead of this release, as Emperor’s Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk and Dimmu Borgir’s Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia are far more worthwhile. My advice is to avoid Mactätus as the marketing ploy they are.

(originally written by me for www.metal-rules.com, December, 2002)