I've been a fan of Helleborus since their potent 2016 debut, The Carnal Sabbath. The fact of the matter is that the US doesn't spit out a lot of good symphonic black metal, so to hear Helleborus delivering at such a high level makes them a rare treat. Their latest offering, the bombastic Saprophytic Divinations is a masterful offering, fifty minutes of devilish black metal with dynamic keys padding out the whole thing. This is a band who understand the promise of the genre and consistently deliver with aplomb.
I think what gets me about Helleborus is how much they clearly love the inherent drama of this type of music. The dynamic roar of a track like Alraun Ghost seems to be almost singlehandedly fueled by the over the top offerings the band composes with ease. This is a record that continually seems to one up itself, offering bolder compositions and more and more engaging song structures. The bands ability to craft tasteful crescendos, as they do on Blakulla's Meadow is thrilling, a testament to all of the hard work that must have gone into crafting this record. With top notch melodies and stellar execution throughout, Saprophytic Divinations instantly commands the listeners respect.
Helleborus are a hell of a lot of fun to listen too if you love this type of symphonic black metal. While they certainly don't deviate from genre tropes they execute on them well. There is nothing here that is especially eye raising or surprising, but instead we just see the band leap from peak to peak. This is masterful metal at its finest. With stellar production and a clear vision behind the music Helleborus have nicely elevated the dialogue around the band. I am extremely curious to see where they go next!
Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/HelleborusBlack/
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