Review by Xephyr for Esoctrilihum - Eternity of Shaog (2020)

The Void Of Purgatory

I can't think of another band that has managed to have this massive of a redemption arc as Esoctrilium has had this year for me. Asthâghul, Esoctrilihum's sole member, has made quite the name for himself in the depths of the more surreal Death and Black Metal world, but something didn't click for me at first. I first heard of this project in the middle of 2019 and after checking out The Telluric Ashes of the Ö Vrth Immemorial Gods, I can't say it grabbed me in any sort of meaningful way. I wasn't sure what I was missing at the time; maybe it was a bit too drawn out? Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention? In any case, I can't say that I was clamoring for another Esoctrilihum release in 2020, so I wasn't exactly thrilled when I saw Eternity of Shaog pop up around the same time of year as his 2019 release. How much could have possibly changed within one short year?

A whole lot, turns out, because I obviously wrote off Esoctrilihum way too soon back in 2019. Eternity of Shaog is a massive, cavernous, dismal, and truly epic album that incorporates the chunky riffing of Death Metal with insanely bleak Black Metal elements interwoven to create a sort of complexity that blew my mind the more I listened to it. As Black Metal has evolved over the years it's gotten more and more intricate with what these talented solo artists are able to create, but I always feel like they lose some of the evil energy that some of the 1990's classics seemed to have. Eternity of Shaog resummons that evilness with no holds barred, delivering a set of tracks that sound genuinely emotionally painful and full of despair while maintaining an epic aggression through the use of well-written riffs and properly utilized orchestral elements.  As the crunchy Death and Black Metal riffs and precise, forceful drumming push each of these tracks ahead, the winding, sometimes delicate touch of violins and synths weave effortlessly into the melodies. The melody and riff progressions on the album are incredibly gripping, with the "2nd Passage" having violin melodies that come out of nowhere and completely take over the track in the best possible way. The synths in the "5th Passage" have the same sort of effect, providing especially memorable melodies and moments amidst all the muck and chaos Eternity of Shaog is veiled in. I still can't believe how much of this album I can recall from memory at random times throughout my day, and that's a huge accomplishment when it comes to complex extreme metal like this. Even the vile vocals on the "7th Passage" got ingrained in my mind, showing that Asthâghul provides some seriously strong songwriting all while having some of the most disgusting riffs I've heard this year. 

Esoctrilihum plays full and thick riffs that swap between having the punchy chug of Death Metal and the full-out aggression and structure of Black Metal without sacrificing any of the heft. The riff after the first transition in "Eternity Of Shaog" may be my favorite Black Metal riff and the beefy chug riffs towards the end of the "1st Passage" and the entirety of the "7th Passage" may be some of my favorite Death Metal riffs from this year. The fact that these two types of riffs can coexist in a style that doesn't take anything away from either of them shows how much Eternity of Shaog succeeds at its hybrid style. The transitions between these styles area so smooth since each riff and section is just that good, whether it's the chug or the tremolo taking the spotlight. Even though this album can be pretty dense at times, I think it's structured in a way that gives it just enough breathing room, with the "4th Passage" giving the listener a much needed break with a beautifully evil and echo-y piano section that eventually transitions into some remarkably poignant spoken word that really captures the essence of what this album conveys, at least for me. The last few tracks slowly become more and more heavy as the album progresses, eventually culminating with the almost Death Doom Metal like closing track, with Asthâghul intensifying the despairing atmosphere even more as the album comes to a close. 

Eternity of Shaog is one of the most complete album experiences of 2020 since it takes advantage of its concept so well. Even without looking at the album notes about what the story is supposed to outline, I could tell that there was some serious stuff happening in here given the names of the songs and the way the album structured itself. After looking at the lyrics I assumed that it was depicting a man's fall into an eternal purgatory as he is faced with the horrors of endless torment for acts he committed before his death. After doing a bit more research I wasn't too far off, but it gets even stranger than that, with each passage being some sort of demonic possession by Shaog, a Lovecraftian style god who seeks to break free from his infinite existence in a void of nothingness. Cool. I just find it crazy that the music is actually evil and dark enough to support that kind of crazy plotline, which is probably why this album grew on me so much throughout the year. There's so much unpack here that I never got tired of listening to it. 

My favorite part about Eternity of Shaog is how it manages to be so epic in scale thanks to the smallest of flourishes here and there by other instruments. The riffs are fantastic, sure, but how those riffs interact with the violins and other strings is incredibly cohesive, making the album feel grand and epic in scale despite the pounding of the drums and the aggression of the riffs. Asthâghul even makes his vocals fit into the performance extremely well, switching between deeper, clearer growls and painful sounding Black Metal shrieks. He even switches it up and goes for some background spoken word here and there too, even though I think that these parts are the weakest of his performance. 

Esoctrilihum proved me so, so wrong this year as Eternity of Shaog is a massive accomplishment for the solitary Asthâghul. The riffs hit hard, the scale is immense, the concept is portrayed magnificently, and it's catchy in all the ways extreme metal should be. The progression from the beginning of the album to the end feels deserving at almost every step, with there only being one or two sections that feel drawn out or unnecessary, like the string melody in the "3rd Passage" not exactly stacking up to the others and the "6th Passage" not offering anything spectacular until the synth melody at the very end. That being said, I have nothing but praise for this epic slab of blackened Death Metal that excels at stepping outside the boxes of its genres and I can't wait to hear more about this strange, void chained horror.