Without a question, Of Scorched Earth is better than its predecessor As I Become Darkness. Its melodies are more memorable, compelling, and graceful. Its compositions are more dynamic and interesting. And there is more of that aforementioned variety in the surface-level simplicity of atmospheric black metal, which nonetheless still feels like one coherent whole. All these factors combine to create a record that has elegance, albeit an elegance with rusted, and frosted edges. On several occasions (like “The Lone and Level Sands,” “The Ship,” “Clad in Black and Gold”), this sensibility of the music leads me to make the favorable comparison to Pure Wrath because of its bittersweet mournful melodiousness, shrouded in ferocity.2 At others, however inappropriately, it gives me incredibly strong Insomnium vibes with clear, piano-accented plucking, swaying tempo, and gently rising atmosphere (“Ode to the Night,” “Wind of Change, Carry Me,” “Rotting into Primal”). And just these two identified touchstones of sound can help illustrate what elevates this album in multiple ways.
Of Scorched Earth is rich with emotion, and feels, however shrouded in allegory, quite personal. The melancholia erupts in recurring minor refrains that manifest as fiercely beautiful cathartic outbursts (“The Lone and Level Sands,” “Clad in Black and Gold”) and more musing, understated phrases (“Ode to the Night,” “The Ship”). Malist infuses compositions with feeling through affecting themes and heightens their impact with the deft touches of synth, impressing meaning upon the listener with often quite articulate ardent snarls. The differing means of expression—angrier, faster, second-wavier, and sadder, slower, more atmospheric3—complement each other well as they easily flow in and out of one another.
“The Lone and Level Sands,” “Clad in Black and Gold,” and “The Ship” each in themselves and together epitomize this blackened dichotomy and exemplify it beautifully with impactful and carefully developed compositions. But perhaps most striking of all, at least aesthetically, is the recurrent fluttering tremolo of “Wind of Change, Carry Me.” Like a lightning strike it breaks the silence following “The Ship,” and its frenetic urgency carries the tumbling tempo of the song through wave after wave of tension release. And speaking of “The Ship,” that song showcases best another stylistic duality—between post and trve black metal—as it moves from the spacious introspection of resonant guitar and lapping waves to the weirdly groovy and catchiest black metal of the whole album, through which the sounds of the sea can still be discerned.
But in spite of so much greatness, the album falters at points. Most notably with penultimate track “Rotting into Primal,” which sticks out as inferior to its companion tracks, simply lacking that musical and emotional thematic element present elsewhere. And while all the others are compelling and beautiful at turns, each is a little too long for its own good, and could do with a trim of their midsection meandering to pull up the impact garnered by their intense and excellent melodies.
Of Scorched Earth does improve upon the missed swing of As I Become Death, but its overall success comes down to how convinced you are by the heart of the thing. Anyone with at least mild sympathies for atmospheric black metal, or Malist in particular will find a solid, and at times brilliant album to rail against and muse to the bitterness of fate.
Rating: Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Avantgarde Music
Website: bandcamp | facebook
Releases Worldwide: January 19th, 2024
