ALBUM REVIEW: Allusion – Epitimia

As far as genres go, post-rock and black metal are often the most likely to take you into an obscure corner of the musical world, and for a UK audience, a Russian outfit with less than 200 monthly Spotify listeners is about as obscure as it gets. That’s the proposition on offer though with Allusion, the sixth and latest record from St. Petersburg trio EPITIMIA.

Starting off with some melancholic, almost fragile instrumentation on Clue I – Animist, the first wave of darkness soon sweeps in like a thick, enveloping mist, pierced only by howling shrieks and hammer blows from a drum kit that sounds like it’s swirling around in the eye of some cataclysmic storm. This ferocity showcases just one side of EPITIMIA, however, as a balance is soon struck with shoegaze-like elements that wouldn’t be out of place on DEAFHEAVEN‘s Ordinary Corrupt Human Love. These rays of light permeate the gloom and work very well as shards of glistening bliss to counteract the misery that surrounds them.

The established formula is one that the band lean on throughout Allusion, transitioning from despairing, smothering slabs of the blackest metal into searing riffs and dramatic, soaring passages that transcend above the ashen skyline and add a level of intrigue, vibrancy, and beauty. Clue IV – I Aspire Like a Bird features the best example of this, with a passage that give you precious respite on the crest of wave, before again plunging you down into the maelstrom below.

As a complete record, though, this certainly isn’t perfect. A change in vocal style early on during Clue II – Melencolia I is a major misstep, bringing to mind less the sound of a tortured soul and more of someone unfortunate enough to step on a stray piece of Lego. It’s a delivery that unfortunately re-appears sporadically across the album, but on this track at least things thankfully return to normal in short order, with a welcome (if brief) change of tempo melding and contorting the music in different directions before the strangled-goat vocals crop up once again to snap you back to a rather ear-splitting reality.

All in all though it’s a very solid track indeed, and this is a theme that runs throughout the entire record; there’s little here that necessarily demands your attention, yet equally there are no terrible songs either. To call this middle of the road would be harsh, as there’s a clear craft to this record (perhaps most notably on the thunderous Clue VI – Schizophrenia) that goes beyond a simply ‘by the numbers’ blackened post-rock album. That said, EPITIMIA undoubtedly have a long way to go to emulate the masters of their field, but in all fairness it’s perhaps unrealistic to expect a masterpiece in a genre that has already pushed its creative boundaries to breaking point over the past decade.

What Allusion is to you will depend on your tolerance for this kind of music. If your enjoyment is limited to only a few of the best bands within this sphere, then there may be little for you to get your teeth into. If you do though have an interest, however casual, in any bands from IMMORTAL to MØl, GHOST BATH to WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, then there should be enough here to hook you in and keep you invested for the duration and beyond.

Rating: 7/10

Allusion is out now via Onism Productions.

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