Music review: Maldoror - In Saturn Mystique (2000)

I briefly mentioned this one in my earlier praise of their following effort and now is the time for a review proper.

And I still stand by the moniker I used then: "weirdo Y2K cyber black metal". It's definitely weird and has that harsh digital coldness one usually associates with Dødheimsgard or Thorns yet supplemented by that ritualistic/occult atmosphere the Italians are known for.

Compared to these two others, there's also a strong hint of Emperor's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk in the dense and erratic style showcasing a symphony-like attention to layering and dynamics. Yes, I'm completely serious.

If the smorgasbord isn't complex enough for your taste, add a clear foreshadowing of their next direction in the form of often groovy industrial rhythms and a lot of baroque 'n' kitsch harpsichord/wind sounding keyboards (similar to that of fellow Italians Sadist, hmmm) that they miraculously manage to sound serious with!

Despite the perfect recipe for deeply embarrassing disaster, they succeeded with brio. Don't ask me how, but they did. It's so well executed you never really notice that most of the tracks are longer than 9 minutes…

Let me give a last special nod to the aggressive yet adequately mixed down black metal rasp that really adds to the final atmosphere.