THE SYNARCHY OF MOLTEN BONES

After four years of silence, Deathspell Omega dropped their sixth full-length album pretty much out of nowhere. Stylistically, this album serves in many ways as an effective summation of their styles from 2004 to 2012; it's already been compared by listeners to "a more focused Fas", but one can find elements of Si monumentum, Kénôse, Paracletus, and plenty of other Deathspell releases, as well. However, unsurprisingly, the band also explores some new territory here. It's not as big a difference as Fas was from Si monumentum; it might be about comparable to the difference between Paracletus and Fas. The band remains as terrifying as ever; I once described their music as "controlled chaos", a paradox that seems as accurate as it's ever been. Their music manages to be dissonant while still containing a strange kind of beauty at the same time; a great example comes at the end of "Famished for Breath"

Lyrically, the band remains as intellectual and inscrutable as ever. (Your guess as to what the third song title means is as good as mine; however, the final song title is worth analysing. "Internecine" means mutually destructive, and "iatrogenesis" is an act of attempted healing that proves harmful; thus, "internecine iatrogenesis" is an act of attempted healing that proves destructive to both the healer and the healed.) Early analysis of the lyrics suggests that they've begun incorporating elements of Greek mythology into their world view. The album artwork is currently believed to depict Apollo. Their view of the cosmos remains unflinchingly dark, which perfectly suits their music.

I've been quite enthralled with Deathspell Omega's past work. After about ten listens, I have already concluded that this may be their finest musical work to date, and of course, it's one of the finest albums of the year. If you enjoyed any of the band's previous material, you will need this in your collection. I can't unconditionally recommend this, because their style will not be to everyone's liking. However, if you are attuned to their musical vision, then I can certainly unconditionally recommend this for you. Works this good don't come out too often, and we're incredibly lucky that this band is still making music. If we have to wait another four years for their next work, it'll be worth it as long as they continue putting out records this good. Five stars.