Requiem Mass – Fiction Lust
Origin: Poland
Release: 03.11.2023
Label: Pagan Records
Duration: 37:06
Genre: Black Metal / Progressive Death/Black Metal
Photo Credit: Marta Zelent
High-class black metal bands from Poland are a dime a dozen. So it’s no wonder that every now and then a band comes to the top that probably no one had previously had on their radar. For me, this applies to those from Krakow Totenmesse.
Your debut To came out in 2018 and, from my point of view, received far too little attention or not really at all. But they received a lot of praise in the scene for their own black metal interpretation of nasty dot and doom elements. Now their second album is ready to be unleashed on humanity and I can tell you, it really blew me away.
Dwarves can be tall
I have to be honest, the debut didn’t completely convince me. So my surprise was even greater when I saw it for the first time Desire for fiction heard. The album is a 180 degree turnaround from her debut because it impresses with its immense majesty and intensity. The opener The Great Simplifiers is a perfect example of the technical skill of the Poles. This song is defined by varied riffs and progressive brutality, which are rarely so resoundingly noticeable in black metal. Much more, the band combines technical death metal with black metal. An opening exactly to my taste.
A drum kit out of this world
The following track proves how varied the album is Bastards. Starting in mid-tempo, the complex song continues to build and ends in an angry black metal frenzy that gives you majestic goosebumps. In addition, there is a brilliant performance on the drums by the guest drummer Krzystof Klingbein, who could mow down the entire Krakow forest with his skills. If only you could see my permanently open mouth The weight of uselessness could see. Hats off!
Making it a new classic?
The Eastern Europeans also know how to slow down the tempo a little and come up with groovy numbers like this Incipt, to take some tension out of the musical energy of the album and then intensify it again in the following tracks. The last three pieces in particular prove once again how valuable the trio’s extreme metal is. The Emperor is a powerful black metal anthem. Pure destruction a la old Marduk with understandable melodies Confrontation Looks Like Hope and finally, the creative title song conquers Desire for fiction the pinnacle of the extraordinary musical journey.
Normally I’m not necessarily a cover picture lover, but this picture by the Polish painter/artist Grzegorz Stec I was very fascinated. Dwarfs and stilt walkers shows to me that even small people can be superior through simple means and can stand out from the chaos. The picture and sound of the album fit like a glove. In addition, the production is very detailed and powerful, so there is another plus point.
Conclusion
Fiction Lust is not a run-of-the-mill black metal album, it reflects the true art of the genre. Totenmesse combine classic variations of the genre with technical, progressive metal and make it sound harmonious in a flow. The result is an album that is bursting with power and has extreme, black music that has the potential to be a future classic. Poland, a new black metal sheriff is in town. 9 / 10
Line Up
Mold – Life
Stavrogin – guitar, bass
Rzulty – guitar
Krzysztof Klingbein – session drummer
Tracklist
01. The Great Simplifiers
02. Bastards
03. The weight of uselessness
04. It begins
05. Impact Resistance Ego
06. The Emperor
07. Confrontation Looks Like Hope
08. Fikitionslust
Links
Facebook Totenmesse
Bandcamp Totenmesse
Also on Soundmagnet.eu
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Column – Old and New from my record cabinet – Crippled Black Phoenix
Editor’s recommendation – Heiden – Black Metal from the Czech Republic
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