Heresiarch – Edifice

Thrown amidst the battle field and born into chaos and war in some gloom ridden scene out of the remnants of a nuclear fall out are the immediate thoughts that come to mind when listening to ‘Edifice’ which is the new full-length album by Heresiarch. With a single and a couple of split releases and a compilation CD of their previous EPs and demos of the past, it’s now seven years after ‘Death Ordinance’, their last full-length.

Heresiarch build further upon the Black Death Metal and War-themed content that these New Zealanders are known for and deliver a combination of blasting segments of all instrumentation that gives one the feeling of being hit by massive amounts of bullets, bombs and shrapnel in your final moments before the light fades and all becomes history. Also, within the song structure are slow lament-like pieces that can present a militant-like presence and yet at other times this comes across as a discordance giving the feeling of a gloomy textured atmosphere of pure misery. All together, this ‘mental roller coaster ride’ of the human psyche can be tested as there is a grave feeling of darkness throughout this album which I feel is part of the goal here.

With a more powerful presence and impacting nature overall, ‘Edifice’ presents a conquering beast of utter devastation while it reveals the degradation of humanity. Hammering steel, smoke and ash and the disintegration of flesh are on the roster here.