Semen Datura

Semen Datura's third album is a schizophrenic black metal machine. Not content to plough ahead in a straightforward line of blast beats (although it has plenty), Einsamkeit carves away at the edges of the genre, pursuing the avant-garde line. A lot of that experimentation takes a jazzy turn, especially in the jagged rhythmic patterns and chunky harmonies that disrupt the record's forward momentum. At other times, it's a matter of atmosphere, momentarily draping the tracks in eerie slivers of sound, or delving into a kind of demonic acoustic folk. In between the diversions, Einsamkeit slides into a temporary groove ― from black'n'roll to heavy metal ― then pounds ahead at full blast, the drums an emphatic pulse driving the whole mass on. Semen Datura challenge rather than entertain, refusing to settle into any one mode so that Einsamkeit is compelling and off-putting all at once, but laced with an electric energy that jolts the whole thing alive.