The Skorian // The Greyleer

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• Bands:
  MEPHITIS
• Duration: 00:40:00
• Available from: 11/29/2024
• Label:

• Profound Lore

Streaming not yet available

Mefitis, a Californian duo known for their ability to blend death and black metal with a highly conceptual vision, return with a work that intertwines compositional complexity and recovery of cult styles from the Nineties, once again redefining their artistic language.
This new album, a concept divided into two distinct but complementary chapters, is a fusion of two different recording sessions that took place between 2021 and 2023. The four pieces that make up “The Skorian” and those of “The Greyleer” each reflect a different side of the project, while maintaining a common identity. Recorded on analogue tape and then digitized, the songs acquire a unique, dense and layered sound quality, which emphasizes their visceral and intellectual approach at the same time.
Compared to “Offscourings”, which stood out for its intricate guitar texture and its almost baroque harmonic constructions (often in the wake of Dawn's “Slaughtersun” or Sentenced's “North From Here”), “The Skorian // The Greyleer ” features a greater focus on the cohesion and impact of the main riffs. While maintaining the structural complexity and progressive streak that has long distinguished them, Mefitis therefore adopt a more direct and 'groovy' approach (although the term must be interpreted in the context of their aesthetics). More massive riffs alternate with moments of intricate elaboration, creating a balance between technique, atmosphere and overall strength that in some circumstances can bring to mind certain Emperors, with performances of grandeur, but without lapsing into the most vulgar symphonic black metal revival. At the same time, the vocal sector also evolves quite significantly: alongside the classic screaming, there is space for choirs and clean singing full of emphasis, which add further variety and, in some cases, emotional depth to the songs.
While partially renouncing the constant virtuosity and, in some ways, the personality of “Offscourings”, “The Skorian // The Greyleer” therefore compensates with a more digestible compositional vein (in the title track of “The Greyleer” there is also a than classic metal) and an immediately appreciable verve. Having said that, the group, even in this more compact guise, confirms itself as born to surprise, never giving up careful arrangements and a certain underlying complexity, despite the fact that the transitions between main riffs and more elaborate passages are fluid, creating a musical narrative that captivates from the very beginning. After all, the black metal and death components are only the basis on which the duo builds new, highly articulated sound architectures that often transcend any genre distinction: it is no coincidence that the boys tend to define their music as 'dark metal', a a label that reflects the desire to go further and conceive a proposal where the melodic and atmospheric character coexists with a poisonous force and a complex architecture.
Although born within the rich cauldron of the contemporary extreme scene, after only a handful of publications we can say that Mefitis are already capable of making history in their own right. This work, divided into two chapters, is also endowed with a magnetic charm and kaleidoscopic mixes that annihilate the most obvious dualities, for a tracklist that requires attention and dedication, but which repays with a particularly compelling musical experience.