Picking right up where they left off with 2016's criminally underrated "The Synarchy of Molten Bones", Deathspell Omega return with another symphony of chaotic dissonance and intricate arrangements that's made them one of metal's few remaining innovative powerhouses. Their trademark frenzied guitar riffs and ominous buzzing bass tone carry the record's opening tracks as if the 4 years between albums never happened but finally when the record pauses enough to let you catch your breath (which is 5 tracks in) - you're bludgeoned into oblivion by "1523". With the decidedly slower tempo and negative space around the instruments allowing the crunchiness of the tones to resonate, suddenly the songs hit you even harder than you thought possible. From there on out, the album is fucking devastatingly heavy. It already felt like they were throwing everything they could at you and yet somehow when the album resets for its second half, the whirlwind of dread escalates to a whole new level. This record takes Deathspell's sound over the top and while I thought the band had peaked with "Paracletus", they blew through that glass ceiling by leaps and bounds with this record.
