OutreThere’s been a real buzz about this album and I got to the party a little late due to the fact I mixed up things where the promo was coming from (slightly understandable as it’s being release via Godz ov War, Third Eye Temple & Essential Purification). The Polish band were one I was definitely intrigued by though as the group consists of members of both Eerie and Sighil both of whom I have covered and enjoyed recently as well as former members of Serpentia who I also have a couple of albums by. Prior to this the band have released an EP and a split with countrymen Thaw and it would appear that just before Ghost Chants was recorded they lost singer Andrzej Nowak from the band. Luckily they drafted in Stawrogin of Massemord, Crawling Death and Odraza and his performance here is certainly commendable.

Divided into 7 ‘chants’ running a short but uncompromising total of 35 minutes the first ‘Departure’ builds up in a noisy mass of elongated notes before clean hymnal croons that remind a bit of the likes of Ved Buens Ende chant away with some gibbering madness and a touch of the seriously avant-garde at their heart. It’s an intriguing start before they unleash their full armament and ‘Shadow’ comes out with a thick welter of bruising drums and a ferocious pace behind it. Vocals really are varied here as is the heaving deluge of the music with springing melody uncoiling around furious blasts and clean harmonies and blackened rasps all hitting you as this builds to a maddening tumult. You certainly couldn’t guess that this band were Polish in any respect, partly no doubt to the English vocals and also due to the hedge dragging skewed riffing that invokes everything from the odd Norse weird bands and the likes of Deathspell Omega. Further to this the vocals croak, gasp and wheeze away in a style that is partly reminiscent of both Attila Csihar and Mortuus. This track is like the album full of ideas and goes all over the place leaving you somewhat confounded. It is definitely hard to fathom and a really dense sounding album that despite its brevity is one that is going to give you a real challenge to get your head around.

‘The Fall’ hones in and hungrily goes for the kill but there’s a lot of atmosphere crafted amidst the steaming velocity and although it’s really fast paced there’s a huge sense of underlying melody and the slower glistening guitar parts that the track winds down with are excellent. Everything seems at odds with each other as we go into the jagged, grinding next number ‘Lament’ but it all gels together wonderfully and it’s obvious that this lot are really skilful players to construct such a consummate melange of twisting, turning, heaving, windswept obtuseness that here is somewhat reminiscent of the likes of Altar Of Plagues shortly before they combusted. Stabbing and marching away the album is both remorseless and constantly shape-shifting. The jubilant surge of the ever marching boot-heeled ‘Vengeance’ serves as a penultimate charge. As for last number ‘Arrival’ it’s got more going on in it than most bands have carved out over a whole career.

There’s plenty to keep the most demanding listener on their toes here and the musicians behind Outre are going to have their work cut out finding a full time singer to match Stawrogin’s deranged eccentricities. Let’s hope they succeed as on the strength of this they could well reach for the stars in the future.

(8/10 Pete Woods)

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