I, too, did a doubletake when I first read Doedsmaghird. Your brain isn’t playing tricks, Doedsmaghird is a project of Dødheimsgard vocalist and guitarist Yusaf “Vicotnik” Parvez and Camille Giradeau respectively. And the two bands are related in more than name and members. Debut Omniverse Consciousness could believably be another Dødheimsgard record, sounding, as it does, like a natural extension of Dødheimsgard’s signature sound. Exploring further along the vividly electronic path that Black Medium Current set out, Doedsmaghird brings in—or brings back—the wildness and irreverence that Vicotnik largely set aside for that album. Did you hear Black Medium Current and think it was a bit soft, that Vicotnik had lost his edge and everything was far too ‘ordinary’? Do you just want extra Dødheimsgard? Awaken to the Omniverse Consciousness.
Doedsmaghird makes music the way Dødheimsgard does; by which I mean music that accurately replicates the experience of hearing technical extreme metal whilst on mushrooms.1. Rather than assault with mud-drenched gutturals and impossible patterns of string and drum, Omniverse Consciousness evades accessibility through weirdness. Blips, whooshes, jabs, yips, chimes, and throbs of electronically conjured noise are this outing’s distinctive element of wackiness, accompanying—if not dominating—the riffs and drum work. This is, of course, in addition to the expected unhinged vocals that lurch from croaks, to wailing moans, to surprisingly mellifluous cleans. Sometimes it even sounds like everything is being played backwards. But it works. The duo say of the album that it was conceived with more spontaneity and freedom than recent Dødheimsgard output, and this comes through in how jam-packed with ideas, and elastic in its transitions it is. But unlike A Umbra Omega, Doedsmaghird’s debut isn’t pure sonic schizophrenia; it isn’t sharp and abrasive. Rather, it’s an uncomfortable dream, one that stays just on the right side of becoming a nightmare, its strangeness found in the dominance of synth-soundscapes that mould a black metal no one else could replicate.
What’s so impressive about Omniverse Consciousness is the contradiction inherent within it. With individual movements dissonant, real harmony sings through overall. With multiple jarring elements playing on top of one another, cohesion arises from the chaos. Doedsmaghird neither supplement their black metal with experimental electronica nor supplement their electronica with experimental black metal; the two genres are simply one here. Sometimes, this means overtly psychedelic and wobbly à la Blut Aus Nord (“Endless Distance”), others something far more exotic. The clicks and pulses accompanying demonic croaking narration (“Death of Time”), clipped, squeaky moans (“Sparker Inn Apne Dorer”), and jangly yelps and yips of…something (“Then, To Darkness Return”) separately appear grating. But like an apparently unnatural dab of colour in an impressionist painting, they are essential to the picture, and collectively compose something wonderful. Doedsmaghird really seem to be able to do whatever they like, and pull it off. A suddenly thunking, cardboard drum tone (“Min tid er omme”); whiplashing between whooping, sampled moans, and dissonant black metal (“Sparker Inn Apne Dorer,” “Then, To Darkness Return”); playing tremolo riffs to a clacky trap beat (“Adrift into Collapse”). I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it all sounds awful. But, by some magic, it isn’t. Throwing two fingers to the traditional idea of tension and release, Doedsmaghird take you by surprise with (their version of) synthwave and mournful cleans (“Heart of Hell”), enigmatic piano (“Endeavour”) and the coalescence of warbling synth and burring guitar (“Min tid er omme”) being suddenly beautiful.
Before long, you won’t even remember thinking anything about Omniverse Consiousness was ‘that weird’. Soon you’ll notice more and more that there is actually a plethora of harmoniousness on display, and that everything transitions as logically as can be. The sliding keyboards shine (“Heart of Hell”), lurching drum patterns blend slickly into whirring thuds of noise (“Then, To Darkness Return”), bubbles and pops melded to burring tremolos whoosh into fun, compelling melodies (“Endless Distance,” “Min tid er omme”), and more! Doedsmaghird also ice this beautifully mad, moist cake with a rich fondant of stellar production, meaning that you get your money’s worth on the creative intricacies they throw in at every beat, and the insanity is just that much more immersive. Better yet, it’s little more than three-quarters of an hour long, making it far more digestible and eligible for repeat listens.
Omniverse Consciousness is just an extra portion of modern Dødheimsgard. But this is not “the Dødheimsgard at home,” it’s a bona-fide helping of the real deal. It may not be as epic as Black Medium Current, but for how little time it’s been, it’s phenomenal. Further developing and twisting the electronic edge into a black metal only they know how, Doedsmaghird shows that its creators stand head and shoulders above the crowd. Embrace the Omniverse Consciousness.
Rating: Great
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Peaceville
Website: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: October 11th, 2024
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