Fancying a dip into darker realms again, a name from years gone by caught my eye, the German one man band known as The Ruins Of Beverast. This sixth installment, The Thule Grimoires, is softens its blow by the crisp sweetness modern productions offer. Its a blessing, an alluring warmness emanates from once shrill guitars and howling blast beats that pave a familiar path, cushioned for an attentive focus on its unruly surroundings. As the musical intensity unravels, oddities emerge at frequent intervals. An intentional alien darkness manifests, with esoteric rumblings ushering in the dusky realms of nefarious deity worship and pagan hardships.
Toying with slanted choral chants, hazy descending guitars awash in reverb and demonic gutturals, convention breaks into hellish limbos of ambiguity. These occult atmospheres come drenched with unease and tensions not aimed at the listener. Its quite pleasant to experience such crafted balance. This peering into demonic depravity plays like an observer watching mystic rituals from a distance.
Although most of the length record resides in this creative space, with a healthy range of compositions, on occasion the music gets tangled in bright melodic leads that don't quite express their purpose to this listener. A small blemish on a solid record I just haven't been in the mood for. The dark arts are not as charming with age.
Rating: 6/10