Review: Ossomancer – Banebdjed’s Path
Blackened, thrashing, mystic metal for wielders of ancient Magicks
You know what’s great? Finding bands that scratch a very particular itch and finding out they aren’t bigots or abusers. While I don’t have to elaborate on that, especially when it comes to US blackthrash that focuses on mysticism and mythology, I want to focus on the band Ossomancer. This project from California has been on my radar for a while ever since I stumbled upon it while perusing Bandcamp’s thrash metal label back in 2021; after a very protracted period, the Californian Magus known as Kamose has finally unleashed his long-awaited sophomore opus, Banebdjed’s Path.
Ossomancer plays blackthrash metal that, due to its lyrical and conceptual focus on ancient arcana and ritualistic mysticism, tends to also venture into proggy, psychedelic and melodic sounds. This long overdue record retains all that, while also refining the sound, both from a performance and production standpoint.
As part of the rollout for this record, Kamose also decided to re-release his debut album, Artes Magickae, a decision brought forth due to a regrettable guest vocalist that has thankfully been removed—and condemned—from the album, though Kamose also took the opportunity to tinker with the record, and dropped 2 versions of the debut with a different mix and sound. I bring this up because the sound quality of this record is one of the standouts; this album sounds so crisp and full, but it’s also very powerful and vibrant. The guitars, bass and drums are all perfectly mixed and have room to shine and work together, whereas the synths and keyboards get that additional layer of polish to also pop out without overpowering the rest of the instruments. Based on the production alone this record is a triumph, and it justifies the long 6-year time gap, because the quality speaks for itself.
The songwriting itself is excellent, and the record, while firmly rooted in blackthrash, still manages to reach weird, prog rock heights and even get psychedelic, more so than on the previous record. All these detours never get boring or cheesy; in fact these are the moments where the album really shines, and when you get settled with the weirder sounds and synths, you get truly epic moments where the guitar riffs soar in that glorious old metal fashion that Fenriz always rhapsodizes about.
Regarding the technical aspects, the drums must be commended, as Kamose brought powerhouse Ukri Suvilehto who plays with Abbath to the fray and he delivers a fantastic performance, embracing the thrash and black styles while also flexing more progressive rhythms when needed; of course Kamose deserves equal credit, as his songwriting and performance on every other instrument is awe-inspiring, and personally, I really respect a multi-instrumentalist that can shred on a guitar and also play the bass as a fucking bass. The interplay between the guitar and bass is by far my favorite aspect and it reminded of the great thrash metal records of the past where hearing the bass was the best part. Kamose’s use of keyboards is also great, as he knows when to play and program them to have the strongest impact, and like I said, without overpowering the rest of the instruments. His vocals are also great and perfect for the album; they’re definitely in the early USBM vein of being death growls but they work perfectly here, and Kamose also flexes his metal screams to boot.
This is a record that was truly worth the wait and I’m in real awe of both the musicianship as well as the production, with my one and only complaint being that it’s oh so brief. At 34 minutes even, I kept playing this record over and over because I wanted more, though I have to respect the decision to not overstay a welcome, because a shorter album is better than an overlong one. Regardless, this was one of those long-gestating projects that delivered on the promise while also standing on its own merits.
4/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
Banebdjed’s Path is out now through Esoteric Evocations.
