Ill Omen- Æ.Thy.Rift

Label: Nuclear War Now!

Released 2016

Black metal has long been a vehicle of choice for an individual to express oneself independently and solitarily, albeit with differing degrees of success depending on the quality of the artist’s songwriting ability and musicianship. When these two attributes are of a higher caliber, a one-man entity completely devoid of the potential need to compromise his vision with those of a group of collaborators can flourish. Perhaps it is for this very reason that IV, the lone member of Ill Omen, has again succeeded in creating some of the most resonant black metal of recent times with “Æ​.​Thy​.​Rift,” the band’s third full-length album and its fourth release on Nuclear War Now! Productions. As with Ill Omen’s previous output, “Æ​.​Thy​.​Rift” exudes an organic continuity within each song and across all tracks on the album, which is an outcome often not realized when multiple songwriters and musicians are employed. This consistency is achieved by the implementation throughout of dual bass guitar layers (one clean and one distorted), notably skeletal percussion, the churning, choir-like atmosphere of tremolo-picked guitars, and a blend of chanted, whispered, and traditional black metal vocals. 

Track listing:

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV