It's been four years since Finnish titans Sargeist unleashed Let The Devil In on the world; a more melodic offering than their previous work, their decision to add more hooks and entry-points to their notoriously acerbic brand of black metal was not met with universal acceptance. Now, on Feeding The Crawling Shadows, Sargeist have returned to the withering, wild aesthetic of their earliest releases, while also not entirely abandoning an interest in catchiness.
Each an exercise in exploring the darkest and more raw recesses of the soul, the tracks on Feeding The Crawling Shadows have an uncanny, organic quality to them, the percussion evoking a thundering heartbeat, the hissing guitar tone like taut nerves. Hoath's vocals are perhaps more ravenous and rage-filled than usual, if that is possible, a demonic voice issuing from a blast furnace. This is blended with the melodic riff structures on tracks like "In Charnel Dreams" that makes their violence all the worse for its lilt of longing; after all, "What power would hell have if those imprisoned there would not be able to dream of heaven?"
(W.T.C. Productions)Each an exercise in exploring the darkest and more raw recesses of the soul, the tracks on Feeding The Crawling Shadows have an uncanny, organic quality to them, the percussion evoking a thundering heartbeat, the hissing guitar tone like taut nerves. Hoath's vocals are perhaps more ravenous and rage-filled than usual, if that is possible, a demonic voice issuing from a blast furnace. This is blended with the melodic riff structures on tracks like "In Charnel Dreams" that makes their violence all the worse for its lilt of longing; after all, "What power would hell have if those imprisoned there would not be able to dream of heaven?"