With October behind us and winter ahead, black metal season is upon us. Norway is still the genre’s mecca, but Iceland is gunning for the spot with its thriving population of black metal acts gathered at the altar of Deathspell Omega. In the American southwest, another black metal scene is building, and we have an entire “blackgaze” (re: hipster black metal) movement keeping bands like Deafheaven and So Hideous afloat across the country, from California to New York. You’d be forgiven for not thinking of Danbury, Connecticut when it comes to what’s popping right now in black metal, but Iblissian make an unexpectedly strong case for the more frostbitten ends of the CT metal scene. A trio consisting of Justin Grey on vocals/guitar, Cullen Mitchell (member of quite a list of bands in the local scene) on drums, and Ray King on bass, Iblissian are in the business of cold, hard, and dirty black metal. The Crucible is four tracks divided into two types of songs: crowbars to the face in the form of “Suffer to Become” and “Hammer of Gods,” and more adventurous, multi-faceted fare in “The Climb” and “Prometheon.” I’m partial to the latter, especially “Prometheon,” which allow Iblissian to flex their songwriting and technical chops over longer runtimes and more involved structures, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what the shorter tracks bring to the table. “Suffer to Become” is packed with all the blasting and tremolo riffing its two-and-a-half minute body can handle, and wastes no time introducing us to Grey’s insectile screech and Mitchell’s berzerk performance behind the kit. There’s a faint whiff of crust punk in the song’s no-bullshit attack that I can appreciate, but it goes missing on “The Climb,” much to my chagrin. Sporting the longest runtime at six-and-a-half minutes, it’s The Crucible’s epic and a very cool slice of black metal that plays both sides of the genre--anger and despondency--well, but it’s a little repetitive, and could use a bit of the unhinged fervor of “Suffer to Become” for variation. “Hammer of Gods” is the most blasphemous song on the album and comes equipped with the lessons of both preceding tracks. It’s a modest three minutes of midtempo tremolo and shrieking built around an attention-getting stop-start dynamic that drives the song’s anthemic qualities home, but it lacks the gutpunch surprise of “Suffer to Become” and the range of “The Climb,” leaving it in a bit of limbo before Iblissian’s crown jewel, “Prometheon,” comes to wrest the spotlight away. Opening on a seasick groove, it morphs into a dissonant ripper of a main riff and cries of “We defy you!” (alternating with “We despise you!” and “We deny you!” later on) that get better with each repetition. Around the 2:45 mark, Mitchell takes off into a blast section that threatens to suck the rest of the song down into total chaos, but “Prometheon” successfully navigates its way through Norwegian melancholy and furious discord to finish with a bang. It’s a hell of a song, and the one Iblissian should be most proud of having written. The Crucible serves its purpose in whetting our appetites for more Iblissian, as this little black metal band from the not-quite-kvlt underground of Danbury, Connecticut demonstrate that they have what it takes to write at least one outstanding black metal song and three other perfectly good ones. I know I’ll be returning to it several more times amid my other, intercontinental black metal exploits; and while Iblissian aren’t quite on that level yet, who knows what they could accomplish in time? I certainly don’t know, but I’d like to, and that’s exactly why I’ll be keeping an eye on what this band does next. You should too. -Brian L.
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