TENEBRAE IN PERPETUUM / KROHM

As far as atmospheric/suicidal/depressive black metal experiences go, this 42-minute split release from Italy's TENEBRAE IN PERPETUUM and Numinas' (a.k.a. Dario Derna, also of USDM quarter DRAWN AND QUARTERED) one-man U.S. band KROHM is more than a fair and musically solid representation of the form. What that really means is both acts owe more to that period earlier in the decade when LEVIATHAN and XASTHUR approached metal stardom in the strictest BM sense by ascending to something just shy of a "known" quantity among the traditionalists than the wave of soulless, paint-by-numbers imitators that have been reassembling the table scrapes like buzzards dive bombing the nearly disintegrated carcasses of road-killed wildlife.

It would however be a tad inaccurate to insist that the music on either "side" of the split will serve as some kind of salvation for the hopelessly nostalgic. Be that as it may, TENEBRAE IN PERPETUUM and the far easier to write and pronounce KROHM both offer a dissonantly bleached shade of pale for the mostly pale, white, and introverted to which most of this material will appeal. The Italians do more to strike a chord of clamminess and despair through its three contributions, titled simply "I", "II", and "III". Atmospheric, yet surprisingly diverse in what would otherwise be termed "structure, the harshness of the guitars and echoing vocals from deep within the crawlspace are actually reinforced periodically by something approaching melody, particularly on "I" and "II".

What the KROHM side lacks in those something-akin-to-structural-convention-in-a-remote-sense qualities it makes up for in cold, grim dirge and also happens to offer a measure of distinctiveness across "The Black Bridge", "Toccato Dalla Desecrazione", and "Sentinel Monolith". Though rather disconnected in a literal way from the warbly guitars and ringing airiness, the blasting drum parts of the latter two cuts still work to deconstruct any remnants of focus and lucidity that may have defined the listener prior to pushing "play."

Alas, the edge still goes to TENEBRAE IN PERPETUUM for a fuller, more resonant approach to air pollution. Hardly a consummate victory for either side, the two working together still results in an exercise that is a ways from wishing for the return of the 42 minutes of one's life spent listening to the split.