Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Entry 825 - Pa Vesh En - Catacombs


Style: Raw black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: A murderer is chasing me through corridors made of rust, I hear them coming up behind me. I fall, I hear the footsteps stop. I brace for the end, but nothing happens.

Thoughts: Pa Vesh En is one of the better surprises to come out of the raw black metal scene of the last few years. Not only is the music well executed, this project manages to capture an atmosphere so horrific, so terrifying that it takes a highly specific frame of mind to listen to it. To go in unprepared is asking to be drowned in a sea of dread.

From my understanding Catacombs is a remix/rerecording of some of the project's older tracks. I'm not as familiar with the early works of the band so I'll let that remain my understanding until I can get a better handle on the complete discography. 

One thing that is immediately apparent is that this is some sort of compilation. Whereas Manic Manifest or Martyrs has a cohesive musical narrative throughout the entire album, this one feels a bit more disjointed and hap hazard. 

This is not inherently a bad thing, but it does take away one of the stronger aspects of the bands sound. That being the insanely oppressive atmosphere that never lets up. In Catacombs the writing style and in some aspects the production vary from track to track so it gives the album a bit less focus and hence drags it down just a tad from the expectations set from the last few opus'.

Each track in and of itself though is a completely different matter. Some are slow and haunting like a lurking deamon come stalking its prey. Others are as chaotic and violent as anything from the past two albums. The strength of the individual tracks is enough to overcome the innate weakness of the lack of focus the compilation nature of the release brings.

The atmosphere is suffocating, the songs are completely devoid of hope, and most of all the entire affair feels completely inhuman. All of these facets are central to why Pa Vesh En is such a strong project. Without them, the music and the mystique around the band would be weaker... and in the world that Pa Vesh En has created the weak are culled.

Written May 20th 2024

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