The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom. That’s one helluva title, isn’t it? This – thing should be banned solely for the dumbfoolery displayed both in the moniker and the album cover. In fact, the bossman himself wrote a memo to staff to stop concentrating on this particular piece of loud-mouthed muck full of pseudo-occultism and chickens left whole. But for some reason, rulez were disobeyed and red lines crossed to get over the finishing line with this here record. Veilburner fomenting dissent and revolution over at RMR HQ? Looks like it. But this – thing got one seething hot reception over here, and not in the way the crew really expected. Strap in.
If Anaal Nathrakh ever sported a pendant over at Dissonance Central, it must be this duo. True, we already had such masterpieces on RMR. But The Duality here really beats them to the punch. This particular gang’s offering mixes the Brits’ loud feistiness with a rare affinity for controlled chaos and oblique storytelling. Sometimes it is as if Carach Angren – the Dutch master talemongers – fell into a daemonic pit, got mangled, and reemerged headless into this dystopian existence.
But I reckon, it was the uniform 7-minute playtime for each track that did us in. Did somebody play with numbers again? The holy seven has its place in occult circles, that’s for sure. And here Veilburner indeed wove the symbol into their creation in a multitude of ways. Besides, the moment we saw the ananym1 ‘Tem Ohp Ab’,2 they had our full attention. The Knights Templar and Aleister Crowley all in one. How could we resist that? Right, we couldn’t.
So, right from the start, the mad hatters of the 12th-century carousel let loose with a wild mix of dissonant Death, Tech Death and Black Metal drunk on crazy monologues and ominous musings. Multilayered guitars straight from bedlam, a totally locked-in drumming campaign, psychedelic oblations oozing out from Hades’ best, and an abundance of daemonic samples that will give you the chills. All of the above ends in a shape-shifting hellscape fueled by Mephisto Deleterio and Chrisom Infernium with ever-changing gritty input, faster than you can say, uncle. You’ll be served with vile rasps, screams, and monologues seemingly straight from the aforementioned Aleister Crowley. Or from Lucifer himself, if that takes your fancy.
Once Tem Ohp Ab in Mysticum takes off, The Duality ominously shines with geekery in dissonance. True, this first track might still be the most measured one. But all guardrails go overboard once III Visions of Hex-Shaped Hiss, Behead the Howling Spirit lets loose. Crazed psychedelics galore roaring in on a whirlwind of nasty daemonic moods and flavors. A common theme that gets accentuated further down the tracklist. And this nerdy freakshow still ups the ante, culminating in the The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom series. Meaning that Veilburner needed an abundance of hooks to snare their fans. And thus, they decided to sport not one, but two title tracks. But instead of botching it, this resulted in juiciest and also most aggressive tracks on this here record.
In short, The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom turned into one of the best Dissonant Metal pieces on our roster. Veilburner are master storytellers. And they do this with a fine-tuned and excellently structured production. One that will let you savor any of the wildly gyrating and grimy elements that feel like poisoned cough drops from hell. An offering ominously shimmering with grotesque yet equally stellar riffs and solos. Together with vocals straight from the Gehenna where failed magicians suffer their eternal fate, this unsavory concoction will imprint itself on your frontal lobe and follow you around for days. A bit like a curse from beyond the veil of Beelzebub that you cannot escape anymore.
Mission fucking accomplished? Quite. Welcome to purgatory. Oh, and do consume this witches’ brew with moderation, if it’s not too late already, that is.
Ed’s note: RMR’s got some more crazytown stuff made by yet another duo. You game? Oh, and don’t forget to check out the 2024 Top 10 Records and the Malevolent 2024 Series.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Transcending Obscurity | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 15 November 2024