Spewed from the mind of Mories, the one-man black metal monstrosity notorious for Gnaw Their Tongues, Cloak Of Altering offers an alternate take on extremity.
Manifestation, his fourth full-length under this moniker, is an unsubtle blend of industrial electronica and symphonic black metal. 3.00348696261066 progresses from tinkling keys to pumping gabba techno doing battle with blastbeats, a contorted mess full of tortured screams that finds release in sweeping passages of symphonic BM – played entirely by synthesizers and drum machines.
It’s a familiar but alien sound that fails to break new ground, manifesting conventional black metal soundscapes in an unconventional way. Some extreme noise terrorists may find it a little conservative, but the cinematic scope of tracks like Hidden Celestial Deity compensate.
Moreso than on previous works, such energetics are tempered by long passages of atmospherics, Cave Systems Of The Outer Moons leading you down passages of shadow before revealing the horrors within, a glitch-filled, glowering sci-fi universe indebted to John Carpenter.
