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An Elusive Instinct For Lascivia Redvx

Spain Country of Origin: Spain
An Elusive Instinct For Lascivia Redvx
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Type: Full-Length
Release Date: October 24th, 2025
Genre: Black
1. Invocatio
2. Five Dimmensions Of Pleasure
3. Drowned In Your Eyes
4. Where My Eagerness Dies
5. Cantabria Under Siege
6. The Mirror’s Miracle
7. Rapture Among The Idols
8. Winter And My Cries
9. Agnus Dei
10. Fog Of Madness

Review by Michael on November 19, 2025.

One might guess that Spanish Fatal Portrait are some sort of Mercyful Fate or King Diamond-worship but nope, that is totally wrong. In this case the guys deliver some melodic black metal and with "An Elusive Distinct For Lascivia – RedVx" they re-recorded their album debut from 2001 which originally was called "An Elusive Distinct Of Lascivia" and provided it with a new cover artwork too. This album marks their return from hibernation and their first offering in two decades.

Starting with a keyboard intro I must admit that the guys really got me instantly. This sounds so much like a hidden track from the Hellraiser soundtrack, great stuff. "Dimmensions Of Horror" (don't know if this is a typo or intentional) they continue with this cineastic style. They sound like a mixture of best Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth stuff with a lot of speed and energy.

The songs spread a truly bombastic and epic atmosphere and when I mentioned the pioneers of symphonic black metal before, Fatal Portrait don't put their focus on them only but poach in the whole genre (stuff like Troll or Old Man's Child come to mind also). You can hear a lot of influences but they have knitted a very own and unique kind of music here. And let's be honest – who is expecting something completely new and groundbreaking these days? Apart from the fact that these compositions are from 2001 when Dimmu Borgir just had released "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" and Cradle Of Filth "Midian" which initiated the years of decay for both bands.

Incorporating all that keyboard stuff into the ten tracks they keep up some brutal heaviness throughout all the time. They sound very furious and brutal though due to the thunderous drums and the rasping, grim vocals by Orgen. Sometimes the band weaves some folk elements into the music like in "The Mirror's Miracle" and here and there are some acoustic parts to find too.

The production is very warm, clean and dynamic and fits really well to this kind of black metal. Every instrument is clearly recognizable and nothing is overproduced or too much in the background here.

Unfortunately I don't have any lyrics but songs like "Cantabria Under Siege" let me guess that they deal with some historical facts (maybe it has something to do with the Roman Empire or the War of the Spanish succession) as well as some more emmm… blasphemous stuff ("Agnus Dei" which means lamb of God).

Now let's hope that they will stay out of hibernation for some more years and get some new stuff composed so that we will hear more music from them soon.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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Review by Alex on June 4, 2018.

I've known little about Skogen prior to this release. The lyrical themes of their music revolve around topics such as nature, darkness, death and destruction. Their sound can best be described as black metal with elements of clean folk singing, death metal growls, melodic death metal and some keyboards. Skogen's music on Skuggorna Kallar has a great sense of maturity and diversity in each track. It is not constant monotonous vocal shrieking as many black metal bands do; no, it has different vocal patterns and a good structure and pace at which the music is played. Some songs are geared towards melody whilst others take aim at accomplishing simplistic and atmospheric overtones via mid paced to almost doom metal structured instrumentation. 

Songs such as “The Suns Blood” and “Det Nordiska Morkret” have a progressive/folk metal feeling behind them. The use of clean singing and harsh vocals add a welcoming toggle between grim and grace. The same can be said about the electrical guitars and the acoustic guitar parts on the record. I think Skogen did this to give account for each lyrical aspect presented on the album. The 9 minute epic titled "Beneath the Trees" is arguably the best track and is the accumulation of Skogen's variation on Skuggorna Kallar . Each element highlighted in their music can be found on this track. All characteristics are put into operation in order to solidify and express the picture as a unified whole. The electronic and acoustic guitars played a key role in assembling the memorability of the song. You can tell the guitarist was having an enjoyable experience particularly on "Beneath the Trees". 

“The Funeral” displays Skogen’s death/doom metal abilities in the vocal department. The death growls sound deep whilst being channeled through the somber atmosphere. The are similar to that of Draconian’s Anders Jacobsson on the Arcane Rain Fell album. I cannot underline enough on how well Skogen have incorporated different types of musical elements to create many instances of euphoria. 

Skogen certainly have their own identity in contrast to the propensity of other black metal bands. However, there are moments on the album which remind me of Kampfar, Gormathon and Draconian (Sweden). Skuggorna Kallar has a production that leans towards the rawer side whilst still providing enough clarity to ensure the music can be appreciated by the listener. Its the kind of record that you can engross yourself in easily because of its simplistic and effective approach.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

 

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