Venenum
Trance of Death
(The Ajna Offensive)
Germany’s topical darkened cruisers Venenum are epic and tasteful. The band swirls all these dynamic modes of propulsion into a giant vat of crusty shadows. There are flying bats, candlelights, dark thrash, and art-punk fervor all rolled into an old cobweb of death metal extremity. You can really feel the crust of this band. On their first full length, Trance of Death, there are many dimensions to keep you turning and burning, each one flickering a soft light of confident splendor.
“Cold Threat” feels progressive without any pretence, proudly waxing in its grim cellar wrath. The song builds like something you’d dream in a complex fantasy, with a tempo of assurance and experimentation. Riffs are placed with a mysterious abacus, laid out evenly in artful horror. “Trance of Death Part 1 – Reflecti” is quick and mindful with vintage introspection. Sections coalesce with myriad foundations, bouncing warm and vigorous.
Venenum are a crafty group. The have a ship builder’s mentality and a Captain’s wanderlust. Their varying angles intersect black metal’s spirituality with an endless degree of divergence. “Trance of Death Part 2 – Melanoi” is something beautiful, with its post punk riffs, no wave maneuvering and straight up psychedelic transcendence.
The album ends the way it begins: intense and inspiring…and then it goes further, traveling far beyond the horizon. When the band wants to ponder its journey, it does. When it skims the outer reaches, it does so with taste and aptitude. When the destination seems reached, it’s too soon. Your head rings with a dizzying recurrence.
Trance of Death offers complex ingenuity; each movement is forever important, independent and accepting. The band loves its way around itself, joyfully pushing what each moment could mean.
