Vampirska – A Liminal Heart Paints the Deepest Shade of Serenity
Band: Vampirska
Album: A Liminal Heart Paints the Deepest Shade of Serenity
Label: Inferna Profundus Records
Release date: November 01st, 2024
Country: USA
Format reviewed: High-quality digital recording
For the month it’s been out, Vampirska’s “A Liminal Heart Paints the Deepest Shade of Serenity” has garnered reputation for being a harsh, yet meditative and melancholic effort, coming from the deepest parts of the subconscious. This type of release is common in Vampirska’s discography, with the project’s signature sound and image being centered around vampyric themes, slow, eerie tempos, use of synth and a general feeling of unease and cave-like cold. One thing that I feel is worth mentioning are the rather specific song titles, which I really like for the simple fact that they can help the listener grasp the theme and overall ideas of the song much faster than they normally would. They also make for some really powerful imagery. Thus, without further ado, let’s dive in:
Dejection of Ares, a Downward Spiral of Infernal Desire… opens up the album. The track plays the role of an intro, being comprised out of sinister synth passages, background noise and distorsion, that gets louder and more pronounced as the song progresses, before going off into a mid paced black metal moment, that offers the listener a first taste of the album’s true sound. With guitars drenched in static, slightly faded drums and screechy vocals coming over the synth, the song comes off as a very promising start to the record.
…Fear the Moon, and Fear the Flesh that Breaks and Bleeds follows, this time with a slightly faster tempo and a more intense composition overall. The riffing is sinister as it is melancholic, the mood being one of isolation and hatred. Something that I often tend to notice with raw and vampiric black metal fairly often is that the faded drums tend to sound tacky in the faster songs. Vampirska, however, manages to solve these issues, emphasizing certain elements such as the cymbals to make the whole song sound more grounded and better put together. The vocals are on the classic black metal side, with some additional grit brought by the phrasing of the lyrics and the raw production. Overall, I would say this is one of the less oppressive songs on the album, not yet embracing that melancholic touch, yet still reeking of misanthropy.
Coming up next, The Angels Cry, Altered Evocation to Inflict Hopelessness is the groovier counterpart of its predecessor, having an almost punkish drum beat bringing everything together. The riffs are also more diverse, and there is much more use of synth, which floats throughout the composition, giving the song a mystical allure. The vocals are also a little less high pitched, going even on the lower side at times. This also adds to the mysterious mood. Another interesting aspects are the interludes included in the song, having moments with only guitars or synth and so on. The structural complexity really benefits the song, as it allows for those trademark Vampirska moods to be slowly introduced, without alienating the song from its predecessor. The drumming also variates in sync with the guitars, including a variety of slower patterns, and switching back and forth between them.
Iridescent Skies, as the Firefly’s Light Goes Dim presents itself as a combination of elements from the previous tracks, while also bringing new ideas to light, and delving a little deeper into that specific mood I was mentioning. Something I particularly enjoyed was the alternation between the lower vocal passages and the sudden high shrills that cut through the music. The song is surprisingly energetic, almost rivaling …Fear the Moon, and Fear the Flesh that Breaks and Bleeds in its approach, had it not been for the darker sound of the guitars and the overall. In essence, it almost feels like some sort of void that slowly absorbs everything in its path. Another interesting aspect is that the song seems to become darker and bleaker as it progresses, sounding almost desolate towards the end. The slower passages certainly emphasize that feeling.
Duality of Dreams, a Vampyre’s Deathly Sorrow continues building upon the ominous elements of its predecessor, adding more dramatic sounding riffs and vocal performance. I am particularly fond of this song, and I think it is one of the album’s highlights, with every musical aspect working in its favour. Something that I noticed is that the songs tend to mirror, structurally, the songs that came before them on the album. For example, this one mirrors the complexity and attention to detail prevalent on The Angels Cry, for example, while still keeping a safe distance from the sound itself, as to avoid musical clichés. If you plan on getting into Vampirska, I’d say this song is a good place to start, given it has elements that will get you hooked from the first minute (specifically, the riffing).
Visions of Eros, the Light of Aurora in Her Eyes Luminesce… Gone… is the Black of the Night, along with having a poetic title, it also has a poetic atmosphere. This song feels a lot less hateful, and more meditative and sorrowful, compared to the material that came before it. The instrumental is very well grounded and continuous throughout the song, further bringing out that meditative sensation. The vocals are the main carrier of the song’s melancholy, being less structured than on the songs before, fading in and out of the music, in long stretched out screams.
The album ends with The Memories of Drowning, the Shadow of Living in this Disease… Nothing to Break the Cycle, which is undoubtedly the hardest hitting song on the album, emotion wise. It starts out with a low guitar passage that exudes grief and loneliness with every note, being accompanied by rain sounds and faint traces of synth. This goes on for a while, allowing the listener to fully soak in the music, which suddenly comes in, a grimmer reflection of the opening theme. The song itself is slow, claustrophobic, and painfully touching. This is the peak point of the album, right as it sits on the edge of fading into silence. The song is kept together by the drumming, the distortion creating a strange sort of reverb that makes the drums sound as if they were merging with the background at times, with the vocals following in a similar faishon. Listening to this song is very rewarded, as it makes all that was before it make a lot more sense musically. It’s the perfect way to end this journey through the mist.
I found this album to be fascinating, in a sense. At simple as it may seem in terms of production and approach, it manages to do what all good art, and music manages, which is to evoke feelings in the listener, no matter what they are. I highly encourage you to give it a try and see for yourself. You will likely come to the same conclusion. 9.5/10 by Ioana
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