Another overlooked rarity from the deceased Worht label, this tape delivers some more blasphemous raw black metal from French artist Shaxul; a founding member of Deathspell Omega, Shaxul handles frontman duties and appears to be the driving creative force behind this outfit. On States Of Liberating Departure , he's backed by a cracking band of French black metal veterans (including members of Otargos, Sael, Angmar and Manzer), but despite the album's strengths, 2010's States still shows up as the band's only full length to date. Definitely recommended to French BM fanatics though.

Jungian song titles evoke violent inward explorations of the self via ascension, enlightenment, and ecstatic states, but the music that Shaxul delivers here is straightforward and majestic-sounding, fast and somewhat chaotic classical black metal with that distinctly French filthiness; Annthennath pursue something more atmospheric and directly aggressive than you might expect from the Deathspell camp, but this is has its own intricacies and melodic logic that heighten the misanthropic intensity of the eight songs. An interesting and effective element of their attack is the prominent use of the bass guitar, which sounds immense and is pushed pretty high in the mix, that low-end driving the fleet riffs and fast-paced music with gloomy, coiling melodies. Riding on the ferocious blasting tempos of tracks like "Survival Activation", "Sexual Transcendence", and the downright rocking "Somatic Hedonism", the band weaves these ferocious, sometimes baroque webworks of complex tremolo-riffing against that guiding bass; this contrast creates some really wild interplay between the instruments that sometimes makes me think of certain late 19th century classical composers. At the same time, the speed and shrill guitar tone and sheer monstrousness of those shrieking, roaring vocals keeps the terror-vibe alive as each song erupts into the next.

Other highlights here include those soaring guitar solos and blasts of fret-tapping shreddery that scream across "Emotional Balance"; and bone-chilling ambience taking over "Symbolic Awareness", ghostly whistling in the fog accompanied by gossamer harmonies, chorus-drenched arpeggios and soft swirling shimmer cling to a vaguely proggy bass guitar arrangement, producing an unexpectedly subtle nocturnal interlude for a bit, until the band blasts off suddenly back into their buzzing blast-frenzy. The feel is shrouded in the cold black rot that suggests the influence of premier Nordic pioneers like Mayhem and Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism-era Immortal, with a strained, pained vocal style that hits some pretty intense heights of anguished rage. Annthennath plants its own flag in this dark soil though; that unique and elegant bass guitar presence (seriously, I freaking love the way that Welkin uses his bass as the lead instrument, wouldn't be surprised if he's a big Peter Hook fan) along with the use of frigid dissonance and some slightly eccentric (but carefully thought-out) song structures go a long way to give Annthennath and States Of Liberating Departure its distinct character, with some passages of wild, visionary lunacy that really sink their fangs into you. Anyone who's addicted to the French black metal field from the late 90s onward (think Aosoth, early DsO ) would do well to hear this swarming apocalyptic ascension.

Originally released in a limited run of three hundred copies, now out-of-print from the source.