Imynvokad -Tongues of Death

Crack open the door to Imynvokad's haunted realm and you will quickly find yourself surrounded by a dense wall of ghostly hues and malevolent apparitions. The sordid spirits lick your skin with wispy remnants of flesh that once lived. Tongues of Death sounds like spirits and wind, like running from inescapable foes that never die and never cease to occupy your thoughts. It is a proper blackened release comprised of four churning tracks of perfectly constructed metal of the ritualistic blackened kind sure to invest its creeping, lurking and seeping melodies deep into the recesses of one's cortex. Make no mistake about it, there is a primal essence running through the magnetic filament and it is ready to engrave on the willing listener a need to listen to the ghostly chants and paranormal activity supplied. If you don't believe in ghosts, this is a release that will make you think twice.

The crisp, ringing metallic guitar tone undulates through the cassette's current, leaving trails of hidden cadence, memories of the summoned spirits being absorbed into your consciousness. The guitars are sharp, cutting their way through the hordes of phantasms, revealing both subtle and outright melodies. Listen carefully and you can hear the bare amount of distortion and the massive reverb that coats each string as it is plucked with careful consideration and yet a hand that has performed these hymns many times before; both a thoughtlessness and reflection with every freed note. And while the guitars carefully mold the blustery textures carried through, sole instrumentalist and vocalist (Another of these one man black metal "bands") Beleseth is fond of mourning in the hidden recesses of each song, a distant rawness within which single words are audible occasionally. Beleseth's drumming is standard fare yet appropriate. Switching between faster, gusty and thrustful barrages of reverb-laden percussion and slower, mid-tempo rhythms, the natural tonality of the kit contains a morose, and morbid personality.

Each song has a distinctive flavor, its own lost Poeish tale. Opening track, "By Blood Does the Beast Arise," leads off the hellish journey with a nightmarish quality. It is easy to imagine the fear of being lost and hunted by malicious creatures or spirits with a hunger for human blood. The song drifts between an uneasy solace and a dreadful, tortured prey's tense last moments. There is a string of lyrics audible to the ear near the end of the track. To my ear: "I have power, iron will..." or "This power, I have willed..." Second track, "Union With the Blood of the Moon," is more delicate in its melody, more subdued and subtle. A whispering beast, dripping with sadness and evil. The main component is a dance-like segment repeated two times throughout the song with a brilliant weaving of textures both disgusting and beautiful. "Forge of Black Flames" and "Beyond the Veil of the Abyss" are both unique in their own right but share much of the same style and ideas of the first two tracks. "Forge" has an atmospheric, interlude halfway through the song that really stands apart. Still menacing, it reveals Beleseth's musicianship and attention to dynamic within the track. "Beyond the Veil of the Abyss" is a strong track as well, with a killer riff culminating in a fiery haze of haunted trance. My cassette has what sounds like a heartbeat after the track ends that continues on for another ten minutes. Meant to be there or some cassette trickery, it is an interesting effect that fits in with the atmosphere present.

________RELEASE INFO__________
IMYNVOKAD - Tongues of Death

Year: 2008
Origin: USA (Austin, Texas)
Label: Pale Horse Records
Serial: PHR003
Lineup: Beleseth - Everything

Tracklist:
1. By Blood Does The Beast Arise
2. Union With The Blood Of The Moon
3. Forge Of Black Flames
4. Beyond The Veil Of The Abyss

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Pale Horse Records

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Reviews:

Interviews:
1. October 2006

Pressings:
1. PHR003 (Cassette)

___________BUY_______________
Pale Horse Records
$3.00