ALBUM REVIEW: Sade – Paragon Impure

PARAGON IMPURE are a band that make harsh, fierce and unrelentingly raw black metal. Taking into account a lengthy hiatus, the band have gone close to thirteen years since the release of their last piece of music, To Gaius (For the Delivery of Agrippina) in 2005. Now PARAGON IMPURE are back together with a new line up and a new record, which stands as only their second full length album over the course of the near two decades since they originally formed under the name WORTHLESS. Sade sees the band take a musical look at one of the most divisive and controversial figures to have ever lived: the Marquis de Sade.

Introduction to the Divine Marquis acts as a short, introductory piece that sets the listener up for the rest of the record. This song is built around thick rhythmic chords and jarring melodies and primitive, fierce drumming, with some acerbic vocals helping to create a dense and oppressive sound throughout. It’s a brief, yet interesting, opening effort that sets a dark and foreboding tone for the rest of the album.

Juliette, Queen of Vice is a far more caustic, speed-driven affair that centres upon tight, thunderous drums, tight, bestial guitar hooks and some dark and powerful vocals. This is an incredibly raw and grating offering, with an underlying melodic sound that marks the lead guitars and provides some catchy, sublime moments in amongst the overall aural assault of the rest of the track. The sound is very rooted in the traditional black/death metal vein, with a few notable discordant flourishes on the guitars and some brilliant, eclectic rhythms that giving this song a ton of musical variety throughout its nine minute span. It’s a vicious and bestial statement with some impressive musicianship that manages to be simultaneously visceral and subtly epic.

Mors In Excelsis Deo continues in a very similar vein to the song that came before it, with razor sharp guitars and machine gun precise drum patterns setting this out as yet another fast and furious slab of black metal. The pace does ebb and flow between a breakneck pace and more mid-paced sections which are centred more upon robust, intense hooks, both vocally and in terms of the guitar playing. The drums set a hypnotic metre, which ultimately informs the sound and feel of this song, with some parts drawing the listener in and being utterly engrossing. There’s some great, dancing guitar lines on here that definitely make this song stand out and be memorable from the first listen.

Repentance of a Dying Libertine opens at a funeral pace, with a bleak and sharp motif which very quickly descends into a whirlwind of dissonant riffs, intricate, chaotic drumming and some truly ferocious sounding vocals that are dripping with venom throughout. This is a great, aggressive song tinged with melancholy and haunting moments. It’s a solid track with some great, emotive performances, that manages to strike a great balance between visceral heaviness and grandiose melody.

Philosophy In The Bedroom is a steady, powerful slab of aggression that it’s hard not to get fully caught up in. There’s some great percussion that helps to create a thunderous and primal sound that underpins the density and cacophony of the rest of the song. The bass, tar thick and monstrous, makes its presence felt for the first time on the record, and it’s a shame that earlier tracks couldn’t have made more use of excellent bass tones like this song does. The guitars shift between razor sharp, acerbic moments and far lighter, more epic moments with plenty of catchy melodies, which gives this song a lot of diversity that keeps it thoroughly impressive until its closing moments.

It’s a great way to bring this album to its climax, and sets the listener up incredibly well for it’s final, monolithic offering, The Final Passion, Or The Passion of Hell; this is a sprawling, twelve minute long juggernaut with some eerie, sepulchral guitar parts bringing it to life. There’s plenty of blisteringly fast, intense sections, peppered with grating, jarring hooks, that creates a cold, claustrophobic sound, managing to pack in as many different sounds as possible, without any single one of those parts ever feeling forced or unnecessary. The tortured, acidic quality of the vocals adds to the power of the song, and provides a depth to the sound that makes the already substantial sound appear much more vast. This is brilliant song to bring the album to a close, and it never feels as though it should have been a few minutes shorter, being completely captivating until the records final note.

Sade is a great record that shows no signs of rust, despite the lengthy interlude between this album and the last. The music is an excellent mix of raw and intense black metal and some impressive, dark and discordant moments that prevent this from being a straight forward black metal album, and manages to capture the darkness, aggression and philosophy that marked the world view of the man whom the record is about. With any luck, there won’t be a thirteen year gap between this record and the next one, because the music on offer here shows a depth and understanding of its subject matter that you don’t find with many bands. It will be interesting to see what PARAGON IMPURE follow this up with.

Rating: 8/10

Sade is out now via Ván Records. 

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