| BAPTISM is known as one of the most reliable Finnish black metal acts with it's instantly recognizable, yet deeply traditional, sort of puritanical "Eliterian" musical worship and esotericism. Referencing both older metal and a newly awakened purpose for a more extreme form of Luciferian art, BAPTISM's work is always more than mere music - it's a theistic black metal ceremony. As it is, "Grim Arts of Melancholy" stands as a natural continuation of the work BAPTISM initiated in the 90's. Sargofagian's articulated vocals unveil mysteries of a blackest nature in the foreground of a deeply darkened, almost insane, mostly mid-paced riffscape, which seems this time to have kept to a minimum the use of beautiful counterpointing of melodies. Old-school thrashing parts are captured amidst songs in their flight across godless depths, yet return to obscurity as soon as the listener is awakened from the morbid trance of a mid-paced minor key hammering. For most of the time the whole album sounds like one single extended ceremonial track dedicated to Azazel or some other force whose name is unknown to mankind. It achieves this atmosphere without using standard tricks such as extremely lo-fi production; in fact, this one probably has the clearest and most dynamic production BAPTISM ever had. It serves it's purpose here to highlight the nature of the album as a sort of anti-symphony, a prayer, a clear vision of doom. The messages of BAPTISM's "Grim Arts" are serious prophecies, not entertaining background music! |
