Essenz – KVIITIIVZ – Beschwörung des Unaussprechlichen

Written on

July 8, 2011

World War III – The world is in complete panic like it’s never witnessed before and innocent lives are being taken every minute of every hour. As I’m thrown to the ground by some masked figure, I understand that I will never set eyes on my family again. The world is being taken over by some false empire and the rituals that I practiced as a child will do me no good from here on out. In a world where chaos reigned and people are trampled for having different beliefs, “KVIITIIVZ – Beschwörung des Unaussprechlichen” would be the record that sets everyone straight and kicks a revolution into gear. Essenz is a German doom/black metal outfit that brings back all the nightmares and horrible images you think of when you have thoughts of the world ending during a war.

“KVIITIIVZ – Beschwörung des Unaussprechlichen” is the debut full-length from Essenz and as much as I like this record, we do have some tiny things to cover that I dislike about it. First, how about we cover the huge pluses that consume my very being every single time I listen to this album. Sample – As mentioned before, samples are a huge thing for me but only when they are used correctly and not overdone. Several tracks have samples but only two stand out to me as off the charts amazing. The first one is on the second track “Der Atem Genesis”, where a German woman seems to be explaining something to someone. I’ll be the first to admit, the German language makes my knees weak and my stomach full of butterflies and when I hear a woman getting kind of upset in German, it’s a good day for my basketball shorts to stand at attention.

The second sample is on the sixth track “Quae Trans (intermediate)”, where it seems like a very shocked man is trying to explain to a priest what happened at the church. The way Essenz use these samples is very effective because it sets a mood, an atmosphere for the rest of the record. The other plus about this record is that I never caught myself being bored with it. Well, one exception to that statement but we’ll go over that in the negatives about the album. “KVIITIIVZ – Beschwörung des Unaussprechlichen” is a record that never seems to stop, it’s just full of energy from all sides and pulls out all the stops to make you, the listener, fall in love with what Essenz does. Outstanding riffs that might just shatter your weak soul and vocals that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up with excitement.

Now, the negatives, which in all honesty isn’t really anything at all. The one thing that bothered me was track eight, “Silenzium 4’33”, which is a tribute to John Cage. If you don’t know, Cage is best known for his 1952 composition “4′33″, the song that is “played” by an orchestra without playing a sing note of music. It’s a whole different story on why I think it’s insane people enjoyed that piece but I can also understand why Essenz would pay tribute to him. The other problem I had with the record is that I felt like it ended too soon. Hell, the record is an hour and ten minutes but I just wanted more. Maybe I shouldn’t count that as a negative?

Either way, “KVIITIIVZ – Beschwörung des Unaussprechlichen” is a solid record that I think most should check out if you dig a mix of doom/black metal that should shatter your speakers within seconds. Also, if you didn’t notice, they cover “Moon” by Mayhem, if that doesn’t get your dick hard, I’m not sure what will. It’s not the actually cover either, they do put some Essenz spin to it so that it sounds like their own track. Enjoy. Hate. Filth. War. Essenz. KVIITIIVZ – Beschwörung des Unaussprechlichen.

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[Retired] A cool kid with no talent but tons of heart! A passion for grindcore and writing in general pushes me onward to reach new heights within music journalism.