Deep Desolation

Subliminal Visions

Q.E.V. / The End of Time Records 2010

The creative well seems to never run dry in Poland as one extreme artist after another steathily creeps out of the shadows to reveal the seeds of its blasphemous mettle.  The latest demons to do this are Deep Desolation with their album of dissonant black metal, Subliminal Visions.  Call of the Abyss is a marriage of doom-laden groove and Mayhem-esque dissonance.  Calmly the guitars clench around thick riffs while disharmonic notes slice through the darkness.  Slightly picking up the pace is the monstrous and muscular Murderous Lust.  Intimidating drums unleash a triple blow of strikes, while seething emotions burn in the cryptic guitar passages that for some reason bring to mind parts of Mayhem's Freezing Moon.  Centering its momentum around a doomier groove, somewhat along the lines of Boltthrower is Mass Murder's Ejaculation.  The futuristic synth that closes out the track is as captivating as it is striking.  Christ's Incest is preceeded by buzzing synth, like so many flies.  Then doomy riffs slowly rumble forward.  Then several guitar solos, melodic and pain-ridden crests over the riffs and brings to mind Paradise Lost's Gregor Mackintosh.  The Nordic feel of In a Mouth of Madness creates a brooding atmosphere, where sinister visions warp your mind.  The guitars are thicker than the classic underground sound but the riffs and the echoing vocals create a haunting mood.  Caught somewhere between the icy depths of Mayhem and groove infused doom lies Subliminal Visions.  A sinister atmosphere of dissonance and lumbering riffs permeate Deep Desolation's debut album to a chilling effect.