Review by Felix on September 8, 2022.

Prologue: This will be a pretty short review.
Review: The incest never stops. Purity Through Fire release the debut of Atronos, another black metal project from Germany with German lyrics. If you like Mavorim, Meuchelmord or Eisenkult, you will also like Atronos.

Epilogue: the review was not informative enough? I don't think so, but okay… Atronos are another band that combines morbid melodies with ferocious sections. Every now and then the harmonies seem to present an almost happy touch (for example in 'Dein Zauber', but this fallacy is always quickly swept aside. Especially those who understand the German texts will immediately realize that the agenda of Atronos has no place for any form of joy. You guessed it, the lyrics deal with death, perversity and cruelty. The vocals commute between clear singing and mean nagging and sometimes they cannot hide a cynical undertone.

The promo sheet is talking about earworming songwriting and as always, a braggart wrote that. Yes, I admit that some of the melodic sections have a catchy base color, but the album is far away from conquering your mind in a matter of minutes. Nevertheless, it is commendable that Atronos still manages to accommodate a certain amount of melody even when the wild ride gets going. This approach results in remarkable songs like the partly very intensive opener 'Mit Speeren Und Harpunen' or the merciless 'Feuer Und Stahl'. If all the aforementioned bands didn't already exist, Atronos' style would even be relatively innovative. But life does not take place in the subjunctive. Given this fact, even the production lies in close proximity to those of the big brothers.

Either way, is this really a problem? The album has a pretty clean yet powerful mix. It is well-balanced and gives the right frame for this kind of black metal. I also do not think about suicide in view of the fact that Atronos surf on the stylistic wave of other bands as long as they do it competently. And they do it at least for 37 minutes, in other words: during the entire album. Fehde ("Feud") does not suffer from occasional failures; all songs add value, only 'Nicht Auf Dieser Welt' has to struggle in order to reach the quality level of the remaining material. However, it is still a solid number and it does not hurt the album's monolithic appearance. Thus, if you like a pure metallic form of Eisregen, maybe Fehde with its sinister artwork will be a good investment for you. But be aware of the fact that 50% of the album has already been released as a split with (surprise, surprise) Eisenkult. Maybe Purity Through Fire can explain this publication policy at an appropriate time?

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by adhlactha on April 21, 2020.

The second full-length album of Code Resplendent Grotesque is more progressive and experimental than their debut album. Of course, they wouldn’t write something boring or poorly performed in advance (with musicians from the bands Dødheimsgard or Ved Buens Ende)and no wonder, that this album was nominated for Spellmannprisen (Norwegian Music Awards). The music lovers appreciated this release not only in metal community (and that doesn’t mean, that it’s mainstream, as well).

Album starts fast and expressively, and from the start, the listener is enchanted with the perfect contrast between clean and extreme singing of Kvohst. His growling is not too deep, but he sings emotionally with screaming passion. His clear singing with high timbre is mournful, calm and pervasive at the same time, and not to mention its beauty and sonority. So, there’s good balance between melancholy and brutality with culmination in melodic and painfully lyrical choruses (for example, in the songs 'A Sutra of Wounds' or 'In the Privacy of your own Bones'). Still there are songs, which represent more aggressive and ruthless atmosphere (like 'Jesus Fever' or 'Possession is the Medicine') with more black metal references. There are some strange acoustic excerpts with quite psychedelic mood (like in 'The Rattle of black Teeth') to darken the painful atmosphere. The lyrics are full of sorrowful emotions and are bound to mystical themes (very different from those Kvohst writes in his own band Hexvessel).

Songs are not long, with classical structures, so there’s no crazy technical progressiveness on every corner, progressive elements are moderate and relevant, only to emphasize masterful songwriting and instrumental skills. Thanks to perfect mastering and clean sound the listener can entirely dive into this album, enjoying every instrument and vocal line (Mathew McNerney’s singing is well articulated). Guitar work is really important on Resplendent Grotesque, and though the riffs are not too intricate, they are heavy and intense with morbid violence. Clean vocals and psychedelic moments smooth this brutality, so for black metal genre the second Code album is not too harsh. Yes, it’s based on black metal, but differs from this genre, and after so many years (of black metal’s prime days) adds novelty and spirit of perpetual quest in experimental music field.

After the departure of musicians Viper and Kvohst, the band goes on with their own experiments, their music is now more progressive-based and with less extreme influence, but still it is interesting and perspective. Resplendent Grotesque is their unique and true masterpiece, and no other albums can compete with it, it’s balanced, fragile and powerful. So, Code’s Resplendent Grotesque is one of the classical pieces of original progressive black metal genre.

Rating: 9.4 out of 10