Review Summary: Raw black metal with a ton of twists.
Kommodus is a project that undoubtedly falls within the trappings of raw black metal. It has the fuzzy, tortured atmosphere you’d expect from the musical taxonomy. Rather than allowing the genre’s borders to act as boundaries though, Kommodus excels at forcing his blackened realm through permeable membrane into whichever neighboring domains he sees fit. This is a tactic that has served the one-man Australian band well since its inception and it hits suitably hard on its latest offering,
Gilded Scar Tissue.
Left turns are the name of the game on
Gilded Scar Tissue. A crafty wah pedal or unexpected synth will demand attention just as much as a neck-snapping hardcore passage, a straight up sludge riff or some gloriously Soundgarden-inspired guitarwork. Of course the foundation underpinning this record remains frantic tremolos and pummeling drums, but the digressions make every track feel like its own journey while never straying into goofy territory or abandoning the album’s overarching direction. Kommodus seems confident on this record in a way similar to last year’s excellent release
A Foetal Wolf in Stained Glass.
It’s also interesting seeing how many guests appear on this album, a move that’s a hallmark of Kommodus albums at this point. The roster includes Crying Orc from Kekth Arahk and Simon Coseboom from Ebony Pendant, among others. The guest influences are most noticeable on “Final Ride of the Dying King” which pulls definite influence from the modern trend of ‘romantic black metal.’ That’s not meant as a dig as the sung/screamed intro over acoustic guitars marks another interesting punctuation for the album. I’m convinced that Kommodus could really throw just about anything into his records and find a way to make it work.
On balance, Kommodus has succeeded in delivering another exceptional black metal record that keeps his listeners on their toes. My only criticism of this album would be that despite the innovation, there are still moments on
Gilded Scar Tissue that sink a bit too frequently into monotony, which admittedly presents a contradiction from what I’ve been describing in the rest of this review. Nevertheless, this dichotomy is real and it occasionally feels like the killer riffs and unexpected passages are needed to save some of the songs from themselves. But save and elevate the songs they do, because every time I start zoning out, Kommodus is right there to snap me out of complacency.
Gilded Scar Tissue rules and is a worthy addition to any black metal fiends’ collection.
