Review Summary: Taking the moon as a new tone
Anyone inside heavy metal's realm, who hasn't been hibernating in recent years, knows the Polish extreme metal scene has been purging over the past decades a stampede of high quality bands with a pronounced blackened flair. This inner circle has managed to shape a distinctive sound that has gradually displaced it from its northern neighbours. I would argue that at the center of this DNA lies the fascination for the epic and the search for some accessibility, something that many may call attractiveness. We find this trademark in bands such as Mgla, Kriegsmaschine, Behemoth, Hate or Azarath, as if this invisible link connected them in some way. Within this blackened array we find Blaze of Perdition, a black metal outfit that evolved from a conventional signature to a more eclectic wide-ranging style, a bit like the Helvetic Schammasch.
Only very recently I had the opportunity to dive into the band's discography and I have to admit that I was positively surprised, not by its originality but rather by the quality of each delivery. Blaze of Perdition has been maturing with each release, as if the band was sailing through a straight line towards a previously outlined destination. I have always respected bands that, while preserving their identity, evolve with each step. If we take as an example a song like 'Misterium Kliffoth' from the band's debut, and compare it with the epic 'Ashes Remain' from the previous album, this evolution is widely noticeable.
Ten years after
Towards the Blaze of Perdition, the question at hand is whether the band would continue to pursue new horizons or return to a
Conscious Darkness-esque aesthetic, whose comprehensive approach would still allow them to find room for yet another set of songs, without necessarily entering a creative loop.
As we begin to explore
The Harrowing of Hearts and find ourselves immersed in gothic rock textures, the answer becomes clear. Once again the band has taken a step forward, moving towards a more melodic and accessible stylistic metamorphosis. Songs such as 'With Madman's Faith' and 'Transmutation of Sins' perfectly embody this new approach.
The Harrowing of Hearts thus continues the more comprehensive ideas shown three years earlier in 'Ashes Remain', now packaged in a more listener-friendly style. Fields of the Nephilim's 'Moonchild' cover, which closes the album, is the band's unequivocal statement regarding this artistic positioning. Nevertheless, this new gothic rock approach didn't come to cover or replace the band's legacy, it emerges as a complement, as a new tonality, a new cycle. Make no mistake, Blaze of Perdition's DNA is still alive. Songs like 'Suffering Made Bliss', 'The Great Seducer' or 'What Christ Has Kept Apart', although more accessible than the band's past deliveries, proudly continue to carry Blaze of Perdition's black metal spirit, in fact, this native soul is present in every song on the album, thus allowing
The Harrowing of Hearts to be a continuity and not a rupture. Another interesting aspect is the epic delivery present in 'Królestwo Niebieskie' and 'What Christ Has Kept Apart', which confer a layer of grandeur, projecting the music into a mystical sphere. Which brings me to the album's concept, which revolves around the Christian concept of "Christ's descent into hell" (The Harrowing of Hell) where "heart" serves as a metaphor for hell, the source of our forbidden desires. Nothing more suited to gothic aesthetics, don't you think?
A decade has passed and Blaze of Perdition keeps evolving and looking forward. It will always be subjective to assess whether all the steps have gone in the right direction, and if these new gothic nuances have added something truly relevant to the picture. Each of us will certainly have an opinion on the matter. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather see an artist taking risks than perpetuating himself in a constant loop, even if that adventurous will isn't necessarily an artistic upgrade.
