To Gaius! (For the Delivery of Agrippina)

Straight off, Paragon Impure remind the listener of Transilvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone: A raw, fuzzy production tying together simple tremolo riffs, blasting drums and raspy midrange vocals. This is by no means a bad thing. While a thousand weak clones may have degraded the formula into a sick joke on their interminable releases, when written with skill and passion the stock approach still works. This is very much the case here.

I've essentially summed up the albums sound already, but they do an effective job of adding in other elements to capture the listeners ear. Firstly, the adept use of voices beyond the standard rasps. The album sees vocalist/guitarist/bassist Noctiz utilising chants, spoken word sections, some rare throaty growls and samples from the infamous 1979 movie 'Caligula' alongside the main vocal assault, frequently layering two or more styles together for greater effect.

The drumming is also more varied than would be expected of a Transilvanian Hunger clone. It's still mostly blastbeats with the rare dash of frigid groove but the cymbal work is far more involved, though still far from technical. The structure of the song is where the greatest difference lies: The last two songs of the original EP stretch out to 8 and 10 minutes respectively, giving them far more time to breathe, for the riffs to snake forward into new and more atmospheric pattterns before the entire thing crashes to a halt amongst the (sampled) sounds of a roman execution-come-orgy.

It's the guitars wherein this album differs least from the archetype. Each and every riff would be perfectly at home on Darkthrones classic: minimalist, cold and harsh. In the hands of a less talented band, this would be a problem. However, Paragon Impure carry through with enough quality that I just don't care how cliché their strumming is.

Lyrically, this differs from the usual fare. As some might have deduced from the title, this is a concept album about the Roman Emperor Caligula. Each of the four songs continuing the tale of his life – from his youth to his ascension at the death of Tiberius, his downward spiral into cruel tyranny and finally his murder by the Praetorian Guard. Few would be able to grasp it without a lyric sheet, but it's exceedingly well constructed overall, adding to the albums depth.

Unfortunately, the re-release version has one weakness: It's packaged with rerecorded versions of the two songs from their first EP 'In Commemoration Of Ish Kerioth', which was in much the same style. The bonus tracks aren't bad songs but they're not up to the quality of the previous offering (mostly due to their grating guitar solos that would be far more fitting in a thrash album) and are obviously from a different recording session – the production is cleaner, perhaps a touch too clean for the music it contains. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't be annoyed by their inclusion but tacking them onto the end robs the album of its power and the intense final note To Gaius! would otherwise end on

Paragon Impure are part of the quality Goatowarex label - a respectable and well-known label in the underground circles and guarantees high quality music again and again. A label that has already released genre classics such as Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist, Vastiia Tenebrd Mortifera and In Zalvend Onmin and seemingly has taken a liking to harvesting Flemish talent such as Kilte and Ghremdrakk ; the short-lived Verloren who released something for the ages with In Zalvend Onmin, but the same can be said about To Gaius (For The Delivery Of Agrippina).

As the title might suggest this deals with the none other than the Romans, a highly unsung subject in the extreme metal genre, but Paragon Impure have taken it upon themselves to forever change that. Fortunaly for us and them, it will not be remembered as a brave and ambitious effort that eventually failed to accomplish that which it had set out to do, but as a work that has its place alongside label classics such as the aforementioned ones. The backbone of To Gaius are the well-written conceptual lyrics and general song structures, which will put many bands to shame. The guitars are fuzzed-out chainsaws, who create magical riff upon magical riff and this for the entire duration, which admittedly is a bit short, but nonetheless doesn't feel like it lacks in that department. To Gaius is a massive half an hour assault that will show no mercy, but is equally as relentless and brutal as the subject at hand.

We return to the time of the great Roman emperors for this full-length of Paragon Impure. Being their fourth release (after two demos and a compilation), ‘To Gaius!’ is a blow! The concept of this CD is all based on the person of Gaius Caligula, a Roman emperor with excessive cruelty, immoral sexual escapades and disrespect toward tradition and the Senate. Paragon Impure consists out of two members: Noctiz, who composes everything, and Storm, who takes care of the drums. They’re also known for playing in other bands like Gotmoor and Verloren. ‘To Gaius’ has been released through Goatowarex on CD/digipack, through Painiac on 12” and through Meurtre Noir on tape.

And I must say what a theme! I’ve always been interested in Roman history, and I really appreciate it when there’s a band that makes a CD about something or someone from that period in time. And for me, this is even more interesting than just another lame Viking story, telling the same over and over again. All the lyrics on this album are based upon ‘De Vitae Caesarum’ (translated as ‘About the life of the emperors’) of Suetonuis. Paragon Impure have already made an EP about another historical man, Ish Kerioth (from Judas Iscariot).

Lets have a look at the music itself. The first thing that came to mind when I pressed ‘Play’ was Darkthrone. Very hypnotizing riffs, supported with aggressive vocals. And when you feel the hypnosis doing his job, there are some very aggressive parts (e.g. the part with ‘Ave Caligula’ in the first song) or just parts where (almost) all music stops, followed immediately by another riff or a spoken text, that are excellent to awaken you once again and make you capable to keep concentrated for the next passage of this masterpiece. ‘To Gaius’ shows definitely that P.I. is one of the best bands Belgium has to offer nowadays. This is almost as pure as Black Metal gets, half an hour filled with the best the bands of the north created some time ago. Nothing more has to be added.

I end this review with a quote from Caligula that stands on this CD: ‘I have existed from the morning of the world and I shall exist until the last star falls from the night. Although I have taken the form of Gaius Caligula, I am all man as I am no man and therefore I am… a God!’