Review by Vanass on June 29, 2020.

Bearing a resemblance that cannot be ignored with the legends of the underground known under the name of Inquisition, the mysterious ensemble called Vacuum Tehiru delivered us a surprisingly well-crafted black metal record. There is something happening in the valley of the Rhone, of which I became aware only recently; a label named the same as the band Vacuum Tehiru has released several high-quality albums, that match each other in imagery and the production quality, yet all seem to have their own preferred strain of black metal. Perhaps the inspiration or even motivation for the French came from their Swiss neighbors, who founded their remarkable musical alliance known as the Helvetic Underground Committee, perhaps it is simply a single French with a decent number of one-man projects; the insight into the whole organization is something that we are deprived of at the moment, yet what we do know for sure is that they are responsible for a good number of killer records such as this one.

Intro tracks have the sole purpose of providing an insight into the concept or at least atmosphere of the entire album, yet often fail miserably as the sound sample is often chosen seemingly arbitrarily, yet 358 begins silently with the sounds in the background slowly building up while the foreground suddenly gets occupied with weird chanting, that is nothing else but an offspring of Dagon's vocal heritage. Thus, the intro, despite being simply boring, actually has a realistic purpose, which I have to compliment for its uniqueness.

As the first real and title track on this album, '358' is quite an interesting piece judging by the concept itself. In numerology, 358 represents the angel number, which is often associated with several positive aspects such as wealth and luck; altogether a good bunch of superstitions, easily sold to the brain dead in the west. Even the Catholic Church rejects any systematic divination of a number and perceives such acts as simply... stupid, but Vacuum Tehiru is just selling blasphemy wrapped in a nice coat of darkened, mysterious imagery.

Another noteworthy aspect of the imagery is that it is not the first that this specific painting (de Goya's “The Witches' Sabbath”) was used for an extreme metal album cover. The Swiss death/black metal band Amon published in 1995 their LP “Shemhamforash” that featured the exact same painting as cover art and a suspiciously similar vocal style, although musically it bore a greater resemblance to death metal while Vacuum Tehiru focuses on the black metal aspects. Due to the geographical proximity, the similarity of the vocal style and the involvement of Ludovic Tournier in the project, the only known member to be actually involved in the French black metal scene, we can reasonably assume that this isn't a clone band which nefariously ripped off the Swiss Amon, but rather a band trying to pay respect to the regional legends.

Musically, 358 is a blend of death and black metal with the latter one being prevalent. The aforementioned first real track makes one clear that this is something strange, although not necessarily something that is sonically unrelated to everything that you have heard before. The odd timings and the sudden breaks, infused with the strange interpretation of Inquisition vocals give the entire album a unique atmosphere that is, despite being quite dreadful, simply enjoyable for fans of acts such as Inquisition. The riffs are fast in general with an incredible production quality, which I would not describe as being of high quality, but surely it puts the aggressive buzzing sound of the guitars in the foreground they deserve. Weird, but nonetheless quite fitting are the minor industrial influences that are always a good choice for black metal bands trying to evoke a hellish atmosphere. Still, there is always the danger of not balancing them out with the riffing attributes of black metal, yet fortunately, the riffs were not out of proportion and Ludovic Tournier can once again go home from the studio and be proud of himself.

The drums are something that remains mostly unnoticed for the greater part of the album as the vocals and menacing riffs occupy the foreground. It is a matter of regret for me that I paid so little attention to the incredible skill of Pierre Rettien while I was listening to this album for the first time. The very first demonstration of his drumming skills is the drum solo on the title track. From there on, he is simply a beast, playing at fast tempos with incredible precision and timing, yet not losing the primitive edge of black metal on his perfectly tuned drums.

As of the vocals, they are the eccentric element that captures your attention. Those Inquisition vocals, if I may describe them as such, are monotonous and sound like a choir of frogs doing a well-coordinated unholy chant. By this, I mean that although they are almost unique, I cannot state enough that they are something that is performed quite well as there is only one comparison that could possibly be made and that is Dagon. Dagon is by far a better vocalist on a grand scale, yet whether he would be able to follow the incredible riffs and match the atmosphere of 358 is another topic of discussion. Tournier's vocals seem to be in a symbiotic relationship with his own riffs since one cannot imagine them fitting into any other musical context with perhaps Amon's "Shemhamforash" being the only exception.

If we were to speak about the bad material that managed to get past the sensors of these experienced black metal gentlemen, there would not be much to mention. A decent amount of thought has been put into the song structures and occasional melodies appear with a few shreddy parts in order to prevent the atmosphere from becoming too bleak and simple. The only problem is that the vocals, despite their contribution to the uniqueness of this album, take their toll manifested in monotony. The vocals simply do not transmit a message beyond the lyrics, which are hard to understand since the distortion in Tournier's voice is just too great for the words to be distinguishable, but they still generate an atmosphere packed with mystery.

With all the negative and good stuff taken into calculation and judging by how much I enjoyed this album, I would definitely recommend it. It is beyond my concept of rationality to say that the vocals are good, yet the amount of attention they capture is simply astounding and I would certainly not abstain from spinning this one for a few hours on repeat. Now, stop reading this review and buy the album.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Felix on April 10, 2021.

Usually, it is a kind of challenge to listen to an entire album with a length of more than 60 minutes. Honestly speaking, I think that the perfect playtime of a full-length is roughly 45 minutes. In this respect, it is definitely a naughty act that Watain does not care about my opinion. They have written an excessive album of 80 minutes length. But I must admit, they master the challenge in a very clever manner. I am impressed, because Watain seized the moment. What they do is actually simple. Lawless Darkness shows a band that gets the best of both worlds. On the one hand, the musicians still have their juvenile energy and their extensive songs are able to convey this restlessness. On the other hand, they have already achieved a very mature level of musicianship and their exuberant creativity does not suffer from childish sensationalism or stubborn decisions. Thanks to these requirements, Lawless Darkness turns out to be a milestone in the discography of the Swedish artists. Let us take a deep breath and dive into the magnum opus.

The album holds fascinating details, for instance the opening riff of 'Total Funeral'. It kicks off one of the most brilliant songs of the full-length, because 'Total Funeral' marks a prime example for the ability of the band to combine malignancy and fury outstandingly. This brings me to the core competency of Watain. Irrespective of single details and individual songs, Lawless Darkness shines with its sophisticated yet still authentic type of profound viciousness. Inter alia because of the transparent, heavy and voluminous production, the band convinces with majestic and epic song configurations, but also with regard to the gapless overall appearance of the full-length. The three-piece has not yet started to betray the credo of black metal. (All of you who are familiar with The Wild Hunt will probably now what I mean.) Although the hype has already begun, the band members do not yet think about seeking new opportunities in order to increase the commercial usability of the name Watain. As a result, Lawless Darkness does not flirt with the main stream. It just needs the furious and diversified 14 and a half minutes of 'Waters Of Ain' in order to overcharge the usual, "non-metallic" listener.

With regard to those who fight for the pure black metal spirit, I admit that the here reviewed album is less hostile and less harsh than, for example, the band's first masterpiece called Casus Luciferi from the year 2003. Lawless Darkness is not only focused on death and destruction. But, and that's the crucial thing, this does not mean that the three-piece lacks enthusiasm, spirituality or obsession. Watain are still grounded. The rapid guitar leads, the hymnal parts, the woeful melodies, the atmospheric or wistful sections, the rebellious voice, the unleashed drumming, each and every component oozes black metal from every pore. By the way, it is a comparatively independent form of black metal. One finds a few trace elements of other bands, for example of Celtic Frost at the beginning of 'Four Thrones', but overall Watain's sound does not show a specific inspiration. Instead, the band offers a wide range of emotions and plays with the lyrical stereotypes of the sub genre in a skilful manner. Lines like "Beware / The wolves curse" do not push the genre on the next tier. But they fit the musical concept of the band and this is what counts in the end. Anyway, the most outstanding feature is the enormous joy of playing that enables them, among other things, to present a suspenseful instrumental (the title track) of six minutes length. Unfortunately, epic instrumentals without any boring parts are anything else but a matter of course, but I am sure, this is no new information for you. It just confirms the exceptionality of Watain's performance.

Perhaps it is not necessary to mention highlights in view of the consistently high quality. Of course, it is easy to enthrone the monumental 'Waters Of Ain', because it bundles all the strengths of the album. But giants like 'Malfeitor' or 'Reaping Death' are no less exciting. They are just shorter and - more or less logically - more compact than the large-formatted closer. 'Four Thrones' also provides a very intensive experience, but my personal favourite is still 'Total Funeral'. Its guitar work and the conjuring chorus remain unrivalled and the same applies for its excellent dynamism. Anyway, Lawless Darkness is a more or less flawless work, only the bonus track 'Chains Of Death' from the Italian clowns called Death SS (most stupid name of all times) meanders on a subordinate level. The other songs reflect the grandeur, splendour, aggressiveness and negativity of the darkest metal genre in all its shady and spooky dimensions. Watain's fourth album gets better and better after each listen and the probably comparatively high budget was profitably used. The sound - as well as the optical design - demonstrates this sustainably. But nobody can deny that the musical creativity marks the greatest advantage of the vehement full-length. This capability cannot be measured in terms of money.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10