Dark oozing blackness, the kind that slithers and gathers with malicious intent, around your body or gathers in the corners of your mind or even that underlying sense of dread and dark foreboding you get when reading that special book from your favorite horror writer or horror movie. If HP Lovecraft were alive today, He would be listening to this while writing much of his Cthulhu mythos it could be a perfect soundtrack. With this, the release from Ibex Angel Order, granted the subject matter that they put forth is not quite derived on the Cthonic gods themselves, nor the music the slow paced dirge/doom that some bands do with the lore of Cthulhu, no this is more occult in nature, more chaotic in its approach but still, you get that feeling at times and that feeling is all that is required to grab you, for you to dig deeper, to listen to the  ominous sounds, issuing from your speakers and to read the lyrics and to delve into abraxas /occultism. You see and hear the  mindless gibbering of those little dark things that lie in the shadows (  like the screams at the 5:35 mark of “Beyond the Seventh”),but not just with the music, but immediately with the visuals as well, and these are just the first steps into the void that is Ibex Angel Order.

The two members, Herr AIDS (vocals and guitars) and Ludas (drums) that makeup IAO, initially gained prominence in the now defunct Sauron and went on to form Funeral Goat and then with time, changed the name to Ibex Angel Order. Those familiar with Funeral Goat, know that at its inner black heart, there is a similarity, Funeral is ( was ) more raw, Celtic Frost, Beherit, Archgoat in it’s approach, Ibex has wallowed, gathered if you will this blackness and refined its musical blood soaked dagger and taken a more atmospheric vibe (Listen to “The Terrible One” to see what I mean) but also to hear the monstrous roar of Herr Aids at times, you know this be nothing more than the other side of the blade, both will cut you just as deeply.

Granted nothing here is going to be has fast paced or pummeling as say Marduk or Dark Funeral, no, it’s more of a mood and mind destroying in their approach (again parallels to the great old ones here. Lovecraft once stated  “The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents”) So musically think Ofermod and Orcustus. Tempos and guitar tones are definitely interesting at times, the sort of off kilter guitar riffing on “Numberless Am I”, and the measured, drawn out riffing at the beginning of “Into Pleroma” and with the vocals give rise to Attila and his approach in Mayhem. The listener is drawn into the aura of this music conveys and the production helps with it’s more open and airy sound, cavernous at times. Must make mention of the brief interludes that happen amongst the various songs, with its chanting and ominous voices you hear, they really contribute to the overall and even emphasize the dark evil nature of the music.

So, definitely something to look into and they are a new band, ripe for future rewards and they have that mysterious nature about them, both in sound and presentation, so if it’s something that you want to delve into, give them a listen this should be a good release for all you  listeners out there, who appreciate the occult and more haunting nature of the black metal spectrum.

[Visit the band's website]

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