Varathron - Untrodden Corridors of Hades (2014)^{Release ID: 7201}

Now for anyone with an internet connection or some basic knowledge of BM, you will already remember that Varathron released a rather good album back in 1993 entitled "His Majesty At The Swamp". As fine a slice of hellenic BM you could hope to hear in your miserable little life, "His Majesty.." reserves a place in history as one of those classic albums for a genre. Being honest, since that release things have been patchy at best for Varathron. Follow up "Walpurgisnacht" suffered from a terrible sound and "Crowsreign" was a change of direction too far for some before they eventually got their act together again with "Stygian Forces of Scorn". In between full lengths they fleshed out the time with EPs, compilations and splits which never really held much regard from me.

5 years on from "Stygian.." and "Untrodden Corridors Of Hades" thankfully retained the hellenic majesty of the preceding full length. Let's get the obvious out of the way - it isn't "His Majesty..." Part II, this album has more maturity evident than a residential care home and the production values show that. What the album does do brilliantly is retain those familiar occult, ritual laden sounds. It puts them on display like trophies in a cabinet or exhibits at a museum. As the dark and doomy pace rolls along there is that ever near frantic vocal style and stabbing melody to accompany it. Stefan's vocals are at the forefront of Varathron's sound but by no means are they the only distinguishing part of the whole. The key to the success of "Untrodden.." is the ability for the listener to be able to hear all the parts of the puzzle. Be that the molesting melody of the guitars or the variety of pace in the drums or even the proggy aspects to the bass, it is all there to enjoy as you chant along.

The build of the whole album is superb too. The start of "Kabalisitc Invocation of Solomon" is a perfect chaser for the rest of the darkness that you get to savour with each track and by the time you get to the final two tracks you are pissed out of your mind on the menacing molestation that is occuring in your ears. Seriously I haven't heard for sometime an album close as strongly as this does with "Death Chant" and "Delve Into The Past" with their grimy feel and disturbed chants. Listen also to "The Bright Trapezium" with its frantic start tempered perfectly by the change to a more mid pace within 90 seconds which really lets the bass and guitars shine through before going back into frenzied territory again. The technicality that has always been there with Varathron has found a new lease of life in the more grown up version of the group. The chops of the final throes of the closing track leave a real sense of something having begun, a fire having been (re?)ignited, a promise almost of even more quality to come from one of Greece's finest BM artists.