Imynvokad - Ad Ordines Descendens

Where "Tongues Of Death," Imynvokad's debut demo could be akin to listening to a television evangelical preacher of the demonic persuasion, "Ad Ordines Descendens" is being in the chapel, staring into the gloomy eyes of the sinister priest no more than a foot in front of you as he condemns your souls to hell for eternity. I love everything about this slab of vinyl, Pale Horse Records' first go at a release on the medium, and it has been done with the same conviction as anything else PHR has put out. Imynvokad take to the wax really well, holding the 7" in my hand, especially with the excellent album art, evokes feelings of obtaining a hidden occult treasure, and with a doomier reworking of "By Blood Does The Beast Arise" as the B-side, I wouldn't be so keen to dismiss this release holding true mystical qualities.

The atmosphere across the whole release is just so perfectly ancient and claustrophobic that crawling through catacombs and exploring mausoleums might actually be less uncomfortable than listening to this release. With opening track "To Ascend To Darker Haunts" preserving the blackened framework which the demo tape was built off, Imynvokad have created space to work this new ritual. "...Darker Haunts" is a windswept dirge, airy and open. It's traversing the moist earth in an ancient cemetery under gray clouds and a hidden moon, creeping upon the last tombstone, hidden behind the ivy and pushing the leaves aside to read the epitaph to your own grave. Imynvokad do this so well - tell a story with sound. Even though the lyrics to the two tracks are available - what beautiful lyrics they are - I find myself running lost through the atmosphere across the two tracks more often than not.

With The reworking of "By Blood Does The Beast Arise," warlock Beleseth has taken one of the best black metal tracks I've ever heard and crystallized it's glorious strengths to create a song I will listen to for the rest of my life, over and over, for no reason other than to experience the haunting and chilling murk of this ritual. I applaud the increased contrast between the doomy intro section and the faster, blackened intensity that works through the whole track. Combined with a melody more addictive than a cocaine dusted sex doll, I can't replay the track enough times to be completely satisfied. The tone on both tracks is deep, dark, foggy and obscure. The guitars are covered in crust. The drums provide a depth to the tracks, by being both audible and distant. This release though is another great example, much like Apolion's Hungry of Souls demo, that the bass can really be the factor that makes a stand out release. On both "To Ascend To Darker Haunts" and on "By Blood Does The Beast Arise" the bass really is the backbone of the songs, building the melodies and, at times, also the rhythms.

I really hope that within a year, Imynvokad will be able to put together enough material for a full length, I really need to hear a long player from Beleseth's greatest endeavor. This is not to demean his work with Thra'el because I enjoyed every moment of "The Baneful Spirit," but Imynvokad is the better of the two projects. I am ready for him to release a torrent of blackened ritual upon the world, so that it leaves a giant stagnant rotten trail of coagulated blood across the underground.