Crikey. If you thought the second album, Contradiction, from these Swiss dark metallers was ambitious at 2 CDs and 80 minutes, wait till you get a load of their third album, Triangle. 3 CDs, exactly  100 minutes, each CD clocking in at 33 minutes and change and each covering a different musical style and concept. You have CD I: The Process Of Dying, CD II: Metaflesh and CD III: The Supernal Clear Light Of The Void.

I’ll admit I was a little leery of such an undertaking considering the last 3CD album I heard, Swallow the Sun‘s Songs From the North I,II and III, was a fucking slog with about 30 minutes of actual memorable music on it. And while Triangle has a similar 3 CD approach, it sticks a little better. That said, fully describing such a arduous listening experience in words is difficult, so let me give you a quick run down of the 3 CDs;

CD 1,The Process Of Dying, is 6 songs and basically  continues the sound of the band’s last album, Contradiction. A dark, moody, sermon like, ritualistic mash of of black and death metal with a Behemoth/Secrets of the Moon/Triptykon undercurrent.  There are two instrumentals on it,  and a shorter tune (“Fathers Breath”), but the focus is 3 longer, drawn out 6-8 minute pieces, “In Dialog With Death”, “Consensus” and “Awakening From the Dream of Life”. The sound is a crumbling, atonal, brooding tone with bursts of black/death and some occult chanting and atmospherics. It’s the more immediate of the three albums, mirrors the band’s overall sound, and any of these tracks would have fit on Contradiction.

CD 2, Metaflesh, is 5 songs, no-instrumentals, there’s not much difference between it and CD 1, though it seems more focused on ritualistic, tribal and monastic  moods, especially the likes of standout “Metanoia”. Even with the black/death expulsions, there are less harsh vocals, so it’s a little more introspective and restrained. “Above the Stars of God” is a damn bear prog rock number st its onset, but does gather a little more steam and bite and end up to be another gargantuan standout track.

As with Swallow the Sun‘s effort, the third CD, The Supernal Clear Light Of The Void,  is purely atmospheric. 4 of the 5 tracks are instrumental/ambient numbers. Unless you are in the mood for this sort of  tribal, mystical, 300/The Crow score-ish ambiance. The last track, the eight minute “The Empyrean” is more ‘metal’ and has some spoken lyrics, but is still a long, droning, skippable track to end the gargantuan effort.

But all this music comes at a price. Despite the abundance of atmosphere and  languid, heaving riffs (on the first two CDs at least), I’m not nearly as drawn to the material as I was on Contradiction. Maybe it’s simply because there is too much music here to single out fantastic moments, maybe the depth of the music and concept is just too much for my simple mind, but either way, I’m not as blown away as I was with the last effort. The old adage quality over quantity certainly seems appropriate here.

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