The realm of blackened death metal is a fascinating one. With elements from both the genres combining together - I feel it is always more about the listening experience than the technicalities. Atra Haeresis is an international death/black metal project performed at the intersection of the Scandinavian and European ancestors of the genre. Their debut album “Pretium” promises to be filled with quintessentially rich musical elements, and I am here to talk about it.
Starting off with marching drum fillers, the opening track "Hatechrist" showcases some intense dark melodies with groovy double bass on drums. With tremolo riffs, the song contains many dynamic shifts, even instances of soft sections with chanting vocals on top. Later-half of the track showcases some fast sections of blast beats and double bass of black metal. The lows and chants of vocals will definitely haunt you for a long time! “Man Through Epochs” channelises riffs which are a mixture of Hath and Akhlys, while drums blasting beneath it. Along the two-minute mark, the track showcases sonic shifts with breathing in new energy after a pause. The use of dissonance chords and trem-picking dominates the song throughout.
“Vaunted Dyer” showcases caveman styled riffs with blackened phrasings in the style of Behemoth. Halfway through the song features clean guitar emulating psychedelic effect followed by a melodic guitar solo. The outro section features probably the catchiest riff of the album - which is gonna stay with the listener for a long time. With “The Sacred Games” leading us into the second-half of the album, the track focuses much on atmospheric building with catchy melodies embodied in it.
The title-track “Pretium '' has a thrashy vibe to the riffs with mesmerizing clean vocals in the chorus - something unique and not heard of in the album before. The song has a persistent hardcore-thrash vibe to it. That being said, unlike the other songs, this track pretty much leaves behind the black metal influence. The closing track “Aendor Witch” proceeds with the blackened phrasings of the riff. Halfway through the song, the band resets the momentum with drum filler and vocal melodies coming together, gradually building up to a climactic ending with a plethora of epicness!
“Pretium” is a very dense record. The guitars - with its brutal caveman riffs and having a harsh tone to it affects the mood of the record to a drastic effect. The drums also do a lot of heavy lifting. Having a punchy quality to itself, the drums almost blast through the intense moments while maintaining a sense of groove in later sections. The vocals show a great range too - from the lows in style of Nergal to choir vocals, and sometimes clean too - it does the perfect job to elevate the listening experience! In short Atra Haeresis sets themselves up to be an excellent band with “Pretium” being a memorable record.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Website: https://www.facebook.com/atrahaeresis
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Satanath Recods
Worldwide Release: August 26th, 2021.
