Chuck Schuldiner Project

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Deitus - Via Dolorosa


I, Voidhanger Records knocks it out of the park yet again with one of their last releases of the 2018 record cycle. Deitus, the English black metal legion made an impression on me with their debut record but it couldn't have prepared me for the second wave of black metal fury that they unleash with Via Dolorosa. Far less experimental than many of their peers in on I, Voidhanger I actually find it a little bit charming how Deitus seem to almost eagerly mix in elements of traditional heavy metal into the fold.

This is a record that brings forth unrelenting black metal swagger in the way of old. It understand the old guards fascination with bands like Judas Priest and breathes new life into a genre that is often dominated by musicians trying to see who can be the most 'avant' or precious of them all. Deitus give no shits and that's what makes the magical, they are a straight up heavy metal band. This being said the group does not shy away from genre tropes or moments of transcendence on their own. The title track, Via Dolorosa is a great example of some of the bands songwriting when pushed to an almost spiritual level. What I'm trying to say though is that this record is almost reminiscent of the Darkthrone classic The Underground Resistance.

Full of exciting forward momentum and promise, Via Dolorsa sees the UK masterminds pushing their sound another step further and decorating potent soundscapes with grandiose moments of heavy metal savagery. This is a band who understand the raw and driving power of black metal and who seem to revel in every side of the genre. This is an album that, while unexpected from a label like I, Voidhanger, is certainly welcome and speaks to a forgotten past that so many of us are ready to fall in love with.

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