Review: Délirant – Thoughteater
Dissonant black metal devourment.
One of the constants of music is how it evolves, and black metal is no exception. While a lot has been said about the big scenes in Scandinavia, and a lot of attention and derision was aimed at three separate generations of US black metal, there’s absolutely no denying that black metal keeps mutating and evolving. And so, we have Délirant from Spain.
Délirant is the brainchild of the enigmatic Spaniard artist known simply as D. B. Through Délirant and his other equally off-kilter and unorthodox projects Negativa and Hässlig, he has been concocting some truly deranged and sonically transgressive black metal that pushes boundaries against stagnation. And with Délirant, the man’s audial poison has spread again with sophomore release Thoughteater with the help of the modern bastion of bizarre metal, Sentient Ruin Laboratories.
Debuting back in 2018 with a self-titled record, Délirant’s sound can be easily compared with the likes of Blut aus Nord, the later Abigor records (R.I.P. Peter Kubic), and for better or worse, Deathspell Omega. This is highly technical, dissonant and cavernous black metal that leans more toward existential avant-garde territories instead of the satanic or blasphemous. The lengthy compositions and a strong focus on both frenzied displays of speed and aggression, and plodding atmosphere, are all in service of creating a constant sense of unease in the listener. That continues to be the case on this new album. However, the most significant change is in the production; taking a page from his Icelandic contemporaries, D. B. has significantly polished the sound of Délirant, and the results speak for themselves—every guitar riff, bass line and especially the drums sound clear and massive.
Furthermore, with the cleaner sound, you can really appreciate D. B.’s performance, and while a solo project like this inevitably has the pitfalls of sounding assembled (more on that later), that doesn’t take away from both the actual playing on record, as well as the production and arrangements, and this is an expertly produced record. The most interesting and unique aspect is D. B.’s vocal performance and how they’re laid out and layered. His vocal style is the dry growls that are more favored with his peers in the dissonant and avant-garde black metal camp. I don’t want to be mean, but the vocals are the least memorable part of the record, they certainly do the job, but for whatever reason, D. B. ‘s vocals sound more impactful in Negativa and Hässlig; either that or I’m too used to dry vocals.
The biggest criticism I have with this album, and what keeps it from a perfect score is definitely the pitfall of solo projects: everything sounds too perfect. Now, I want to stress and clarify that this isn’t a dig at the production, nor is it a dig at D. B. himself—the man’s talents speak for themselves—it’s just a matter of subjective taste, and for my part, while I enjoy this record quite a lot, and am also amazed at the raw technical skill of the main man, my issue falls entirely with the obvious lack of dynamics when a single person handles everything. While I don’t expect nor want D. B. to assemble a lineup for the sake of my preferences, I was left feeling like something was lacking, and it’s entirely on me. As a whole, D. B. has the chops, vision and mystique to pull off this music, and even if it’s a solo endeavor, I still marvel at how one person can conjure up this type of sonic insanity.
4/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
Thoughteater releases on February 14 through Sentient Ruin Laboratories. The perfect gift for the sweetheart in your life! <3
