ALBUM REVIEW: Dark Triad: Bitter Psalms To A Sordid Species – Epiphanic Truth

“Humanity deludes itself that it is separate and above animal life” reads the Spotify description of the band EPIPHANIC TRUTH. Avant garde experimental ambient black metal surely isn’t for everyone, and statements such as this might even put more people off giving this album a fair chance. But Dark Triad: Bitter Psalms To A Sordid Species is able to win us over with the varied and innovative instrumentation to back up the lofty statements of intent in their pressor.

Despite only having three tracks on this 45-minute album, the music keeps you on your toes, with complex and interweaving sections, never resorting to 12 minutes of blast beats or defaulting to merely the heaviest sounds. Textures abound, with Our Vile Roots Flourish Beyond Light coming in as something of a 22-minute long odyssey of emotion. The third and final track on the album builds to a really satisfying conclusion, and it’s with layers upon layers of imaginative instrumentation that the album closes.

It’s in need of a little more climatic points during the middle section to give the album as a whole more shape – yes, overall the album builds towards its final moments; the conclusion sounds purposeful – but the middle section drags, and the weight of the song structure is shunted towards bookending the album. Instead, we’re in need of more noteworthy moments spaced out throughout the whole run time to keep us interested.

What’s really impressive about this album, especially when put into context of black metal as a subgenre, is the variety which we can hear in the vocal delivery. Now, it’s unclear whether this is one guy with a vocal box as adaptable as Mike Schiedt (YOB) or Tatianna from JINJER, or if there’s a whole host of characters at play. No one knows who is in this band. Whoever it is doesn’t adhere to the usual thickets of impenetrable black metal growling. 

There’s even some synth work in the album – not that it massively works, but one has to commend the imagination. It just feels like it’s been tacked over the top of a track which already existed and was not conceived of as part of the music. Despite this, and the potential pacing issues, this album is absolutely worth your time. It’s a really interesting and impressive start for a collective who have a career that’s really worth watching ahead of them.

Rating: 6/10

Dark Triad: Bitter Psalms To A Sordid Species is out now via Church Road Records.

Follow EPIPHANIC TRUTH on Bandcamp.