Review: Ars Moriendi Sepelitur Alleluia”

ARS MORIENDI “Sepelitur Alleluia”
Archaic Sound

French bands, especially these which had something to do with Black Metal always played in different, maybe even a little strange and eclectic way. Well, ARS MORIENDI in my eyes is only a project, not a band. Creature like that will never deserve in my opinion for being called band. It’s not about music) It’s just about principle and meaning of the word “”band”. That’s the reason why ARS MORIENDI is just a project – there play only one guy hidden under the pseudonym Arsonist. He comes from the city called Clermont-Ferrand. City (or at least its part, Clermont, coz city with current name was created in 1630 by unity of two cities) is very old one. So it’s clear that there’re many monuments and so on.

It’s rather moderately huge city as on French conditions. In urban area live less or more 460.000 people. One of them decided in 2001 that it’s time to create own music, release it… And effect of this decision was creating ARS MORIENDI. Arsonist plays all instruments and that’s why he recorded next stuffs directly when he was able to do it and ready with music. So A. M. has six demos, split and four albums (“Sepelitur…” is forth one). So his last masterpiece contains only five songs, but they take almost an hour. Only from this fact you can understand that every single song is extended, even elaborated here. Especially last one “Fléau français” is extremely long – at least as on this genre of music. And what this genre is?!? Well, it’s a question on which it’s impossible to find short and clear answer. Arsonist describes his music as Atmospheric Dark/Black Metal.

Well, he probably knows better, but for me a lot of what we can to hear here has (except of the most of vocals’ parts) not so many or even nothing to do with Black or even with Metal in general. I know that I’m old orthodox, but… It’s very often calm, in some way nostalgic and surely creates dark atmosphere. But there’re also fragments when we can to listen to pure music Armageddon which without bigger scruples I’d call Black Metal. The fact is that riffs aren’t typical for this sub-genre of Metal. But common character is for sure like it should be in Black Art. It’s probably coz of characteristic beat of drums, sometimes hidden delicate keyboards. Our French friend uses sometimes totally unexpected instruments in music like that.

Riffs are often pure Black, or at least Metal in general ones. But there’re whole parties where it connotes more wit Progressive Rock or even a little more far from Metal genres of music. Anyway, in almost every moment of “Sepelitur Alleluia” they’re roomy and. As I said before they’re also comprehensive and that’s why it’s not so easy (well, in my opinion: impossible) to describe this music by some term. Drums don’t play whole the time, but when it plays in very various way – sometimes fast as blast, sometimes calm, sometimes together with guitar, bass… like it’d be Jazz or something like that.

Well, this album definitely isn’t for so called true-blue Black Metal fans (or as I heard once “exclusive Black Metal fans” – whatever the hell it means)!!! You must be really open-minded to listen to this music with pleasure! In general this is Metal, mostly Black Metal, but it’s also a little mix of Metal, mentioned above genres, a little Classic Music and probably few other ones which I don’t hear, but…