Inferno (Czech) – Omniabsence Filled By His Greatness
Often, when looking for new Black Metal to get lost in, I search for sounds that disturb and soothe in equal measure. When dark content and hurricane speeds coalesce effectively, and the mind drifts in a drone that, nevertheless, remains comprised of actual music, one’s soul can more easily expunge its weight of daily upheaval. The sixth release by Czech old-schoolers Inferno, achieves this equilibrium I gravitate toward. Omniabsence Filled By His Greatness arrives as an album fit for any mood, no matter if you are busily ignoring vapid colleagues surrounding you at work, seeking a moment’s solitude while mowing the lawn, or creating an atmosphere inside your home, candles lit, chilled glass in hand brimming with your favorite beverage. Inferno’s latest makes use of techniques that a few others also do, with a clean, Inquisition-like production, layers of early ’80s post-punk, and imprints of psychedelia to aid in your spiritual transport, but none of these are overbearing to the point of being over-processed or over-utilized. In so doing, one could consider the band more successful than like-peers in the final product, for Inferno’s glittering and distant chordings, repeatedly surfacing and diving amidst the BM maelstrom, are sewn in with obvious care, never feeling like blunt stabs at non-acid-loving ears, or coming off as more Pink Floyd-ish Black Metal writ large. On Omniabsence…, the dreamweaving delivered alongside an artisanal Black Metal performance (chalk that up to Inferno’s 17 year-long scene presence) is imbued with a relevance and necessity; indeed, the lack of these elements would greatly diminish the impact of the album, perhaps leaving the rest of the instrumentation to languish in longing.
Sometimes we need raw Black Metal to white-out the world with aural hate, but at others, we need the appearance of a sonic star-gate to escape the man-made doldrums threatening to consume us. With Omniabsence Filled By His Greatness nestled safely within your collection, you will relish summoning your own multidimensional escape at the effortless drop of a needle. -Jim
Agonia Records
Phenomenal review!!! I know that the guitarist of Inferno is a huge fan of bands like Joy Division, Hawkwind or Pink Floyd but I personally haven’t noticed such influences in this album. After all I am one of those who keeps on hearing Blut aus nord and Deathspell Omega in every “unusual” black metal record, shame on me.
Anyway, when composing music for “omniabsence filled by his greatness” the aforementioned guitarist came up with an extra song which wasn’t really suitable for the album so the demo recording of that extra song was uploaded on soundcloud for people to hear. You might enjoy it.