Written: 19th March 2024
It has been three years since Russia’s Meister Leonhardt (named after a short novel by Gustav Meyrink, most famous for his novel The Golem) released their self-titled debut. With a new rhythm section initiated into the band, they prepare to unleash their second album, Thanatopoeia.
Bliss Of Impermanence, which opens the album, introduces us to the quintet’s murky world with mysterious, dark ambience until chilling, echoing notes further increase the icy tension. Almost three minutes into the track, the entire band crackle and spit into life with driving black metal riffs as Vaarwel unveils his rasping screams. We observe as hubris inheres / In attempts to shun the mundane / Almost none could welcome these fears / Of inhaling the entropy’s bone. The lyrics explore the relationship between the fear of the unknown and the acceptance of the impermanence nature of existence. Suggesting a philosophical contemplation of time, life and our places in the cosmos, Bliss Of Impermanence is unique on the album in containing the quieter, unnerving introduction and on many albums, the lengthy prologue would have been split onto a separate track; here it fits with the ideas behind the lyrics as it perfectly mirrors the ebbs and flows of life - the times of peace and times of difficulty.
Thanatopoeia is not merely a collection of songs but an icy odyssey into the heart of nihilism. Following the opening three minutes, it is an unremitting assault on the senses that leaves the listener grappling with the stark reality of existence. Defossion Transcendence, at the outset at least, continues in a musical vein similar to that of Bliss Of Impermanence: rapid, mournful guitars and mechanical precise drums. There is a delicate balance between the expansive and oppressive on a number of tracks and for the most part, Meister Leonhardt achieve a sensible juxtaposition of these aspects of their music. For all the song’s aggression, there are moments of subtle, portentous melody from both instruments and vocals. With chant like singing during Defossion Transcendence, Vaarwel adds vocal variety (one of the few times on the album he does so) to the despairing and abyssal lyrics. Writhe in solipsistic grin / While grave wax runs through the veins of Earth / Dire convulsions merely defile / All the burdens to subvert.
Malevolence Supreme keeps the pace high, makes use of more exquisitely sombre melodies and, at times, adopts a more blackened thrash approach. Using metaphors of extreme violence – and some lyrics that would be at home on a death metal album - as a commentary on societal and personal conflict, the band examine the way in which actions echo and resonate with larger implications and the cyclical nature of violence and retribution. Where a difference means just few at sacrifice / Loud curse is never a straight threat / Red extender runs from open slice / Dilution for the ocean of hatred. As the track progresses, the antagonism rises, acidic vocals abound and the rhythm section of I.Rex on bass and D. on drums increase the tempo with a bludgeoning, palpable force that add depth and darkness to the track’s auditory tapestry.
By the time we reach Quiescence in Throes and Fulcrum, Meister Leonhardt have reached the peak of their macabre and malicious ferocity with the latter jarring and stabbing at the listener throughout. Meister Leonhardt allow for some variance in tempo on Tomb Ore as a cloying atmosphere of dense, pitiless riffs builds together with the aura of doom metal during some sections. It contains some of the most visceral vocals on the entire album as an agonized Vaarwel screams in a conflagration of the deepest melancholy. Trash resources / Aimless curses / Feasting on the bulk of rot / Transmutation reinforces / Reins of universe afloat / Tomb is built atop a tomb.
Thanatopoeia is not an album for the faint hearted. Guitarists RDSL and M discharge a blistering, cacophony of riffs throughout, not least on The Imago Paradigm and the unrelenting closer Taphotaxis. The production on the album sits tentatively between the lo-fi aesthetic of black metal’s second wave and the modern demand for sonic depth. The band does not allow the drums to overwhelm the other instruments; however, there are passages during which a rattling snare could be more effective. While not breaking (or attempting to break) any moulds familiar to those who treasure black metal - fans of Carpathian Forest and Darkthrone will find much to enjoy - is an album that demands to be experienced in its entirety. It is a relentless journey through the bleakest corners of the human condition, our understanding of transience, and the question of whether it is better to live in fear of the end or to find some form of contentment in inevitability. Obdurate, profound and remorseless.
Thanatopoeia is released on 21st March 2024 via Purity Through Fire.