The Acausal Mass

Bands like Merrimack tend to make one reflect on what the term “pure black metal” actually means. At first, it may come off as being a distilled version of the genre and thus a concentrated dose of irreverent rage. However, what it often implies (and it definitely does so here) is an album/band that takes most of the easily recognizable elements of all the big names associated with the style, and often times scuttling the more distinctive features of the given sound and thus resulting in a fairly generic affair. Be all of this as it may, it wouldn’t be fair to dismiss a band like this one as being lackluster, but at the same time it gets a bit difficult to differentiate them from a lot of bands (most particularly Gorgoroth and Marduk) who were putting together songs like these 10 or more years ago.

Nevertheless, when compared with an extremely by the book predecessor in “Grey Rigorism”, “The Acausal Mass” does impress in a number of ways. The heavily fuzz drenched guitar sound that was somewhat similar to early Burzum has been switched out for something a little heavier and resulting in an overall production quality that lends itself more to clarity than fogginess. Much of the slower, droning elements have also been eliminated or otherwise downplayed in favor of a more violent, going right for the throat approach that is definitely more indicative of the militaristic character of later 90s and early 2000s Marduk. Nowhere is this clearer than during the perpetual blast beat saturated frenzy of tremolo guitars and raving voices for 50 seconds straight that is the opener of this little opus in “Vestals Of Descending Light”.

Basically, the entire format has been streamlined a bit more with fewer meandering epics so as to be easier to consume for the intended audience of old school 2nd wave fans. Whether taking more of a slowed down, grooving approach or going on at full speed, there is a continual sense of familiarity and creepiness to the atmosphere that is both horrific and, at times, somber. “Gospel Of The Void” immediately stands out as one of the clearer examples on how this works on both levels as it transitions from varying levels of violence and slow trudging despair. But just about all of the songs on here portray this progressing duality between coasting and flying, and occasionally hearkens back to the earliest days of the style where guitar solos were employed in a much more regular fashion (which is still the case with Immortal and a few others).

Perhaps the only exception to this trend is the closer “Liminal Matter Corruption” which wants to reach back somewhat to the “Grey Rigorism” style of dragging things out a bit further and employing a few isolated ambient elements, but it manages to work slightly better here than on said album due to the crisper production. But even in this song’s case, the continual pendulum of extreme speed and slowness prevails in a very methodical fashion, painted over by a vocal approach that is a bit deeper and more intelligible than that of a lot of the bands that influenced this one. One might even go so far as to speculate that Nocturno Culto was brought in to do studio vocals given the highly similar approach.

This will most likely end up appealing a bit less to those who found the droning simplicity and rawness of “Grey Rigorism” appealing and more so to the conventional fan base of the early scene where darkness is still paramount, but the formula doesn’t have to be so rigorously restrained in order to maintain the cult-like character of the sound. It doesn’t quite come off as the most distinctive offering in the bunch, but one could definitely do a lot worse than this album.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on August 16, 2012.

In all honesty, I felt uncomfortable listening to Merrimack's new album, the most Swedish of all French bands. Several reasons motivated this discomfort. I passionately hated Grey Rigorism (2009), their previous album. Slow and sticky, it was inspired by a particularly annoying form of black metal developed – especially – by Ondskapt. It was a turn for the least expected, given the musical history of this Parisian quintet which were rather officiating in a fast, brutal and uncompromising register. Their first demos and their first two albums were pure hatred manifests, hence my disappointment three years ago. In addition, the group was almost entirely renewed in 2010, Perversifier (guitars) now playing with four new associates. It is therefore with several questions in mind that I begin the many listenings necessary for a fair evaluation of The Acausal Mass (2012).

The first fifty seconds of the album, materialized by Vestals of Descending Light, are an answering attempt offered by the band. It tumbles at full speed, with a frantic rhythm, as if the members of Merrimack sought to convey a message to anyone (including your host) who doubted their artistic choices. However, this first flash is not followed by proper results. From the second title, Arousing Wombs In Nine Angels Pleroma, the group switches again to a slower tempo that rarely takes off, causing a sharp stylistic break with the introduction. The rest of the album follows that pattern. The songs are built around average riffs, both for speed and inspiration. Some blasts are sprinkled here and there, but the heart of this album consists of heavy and murky atmospheres, particularly clear on Hypophanie. Finally, we note the lackluster vocal performance of Vestal (replacing Terrorizt) whose screams lack of bite and aggression.

This album is not devoid of qualities. The recording, made in famous Stockholm's Necromorbus Studio, is excellent, despite a rather bland mix. The compositions are also – still – most dynamic and diverse than on the previous album (which is not a great feat). But I always expect better results from dark metal veterans, who spread their malicious hymns for as long as Merrimack. The Acausal Mass is undoubtedly a transition album for the band, which now has a brand new line-up. So let's wish them a certain stability, which I hope will result in better inspiration and originality. 6/10

Originally written for Métal Obscur