Thumbman, June 28th, 2013

Dealing with such subject matter as conspiracy theories and the esoteric, as well as featuring tribal influences and weird samples, Veratu are far removed from being your typical black metal band. This is an intensely layered affair, with much more going on than your standard blasts'n'tremolo sort of release. Make no mistake - the band is based in grit-heavy black metal and don't compromise. While these parts are very good, it's the parts external to the metal realm that make this an exceptional release. Layered spoken word samples, keyboards with foreign tones, sampled ethnic instruments and flowing ambient all give this band its distinct nature. While all that might seem like to much fucking about, they pull everything together, and despite many sections composed entirely of non-metal oddities, this is still a very powerful release.

This band is far removed from your typical American black metal sound. If I didn't know they were from California and had to guess their origins, I would probably guess somewhere in Latin America. The tribal vibe definitely does harken to that geography. For extra effect, they often do sample many ethnic instruments, such as Latin sounding flutes and one strange Middle Eastern one that I'll readily admit that I have absolutely no idea what is. This adds more intrigue to an already intriguing sound. Even weird chants are occasionally sampled, albeit not in a prominent or overbearingly weird way. When tribal drums are included in metal, it's usually pounding tom work. However, this is far from the case here. Weird clanging, abrasive cymbal work well in this setting, featuring tones not usually found on your usual drum sets provide the backing for most of this release. Sometimes actual tribal drumming is sampled. The spoken word samples adds yet another layer of depth. These are often eerie and add to the strange vibe.

The metal itself almost never operates without welcome intrusion from whatever the hell else is going on. Spoken word samples, weird keyboard sounds and tribal aesthetics often operate in the same sonic space. These oddities get just as much time in the spotlight, with the metal often dropping out of the sound, and creeping back later. The black metal is rough, it can either linger in the back, but when it really wants to come out of the would work it is incredibly riffy and features grating melodies. At times it is even a bit doomy. Rare and intense solos sometimes blare over the raging tremolo, most prominently in "The Kvlt of Fractal Maji".

This is a consistently bizarre and baffling release, and certainly not for all black metal fans. The ones who are into this type of stuff will get a lot out of it, though. The layers are immense, this is packed full of strange oddities and just as much about the other stuff as it is about the metal. The metal is very successful though, and when it does come crashing through the layers of confusion and takes main stage, it is a truly punishing force. Veratu are a weird band, but brew an entirely intriguing mix within their weirdness. Although some will certainly write this off as being weird for the sake of being weird, their strangeness does serve a very high purpose.