Vermin - Archangel (Black Metal)

Attempting to bridge the world of the visible with that of the ethereal, Archangel makes good on one of the trademarks of Vermin, which is a Phantom styled theatrical presentation of infinite concepts manifested in morbid characters, conflicts and themes.

In this album Archangel, the smoothest unification of technical death metal and flowing, enigmatic black metal defines the sound Vermin has been reaching for since the days of the ingenuous melodic topography that defined their first full-length, the haunting Verminlust.

Built in the same style as some of Sewer's earlier work (to which Vermin contributed), the songs on Archangel use more ambitious riffs and more complex rhythms, pushing the band closest to its blackened death metal influences, most notably Incantation and Infester. Written on a much grander scale, these longer compositions employ a Phantom styled circular song structure with discursive variations that move each track partially to its conclusion, with each layer achieving a triumphal concluding riff and harmonic variation of initial riffs and themes.

Another point of ressemblance with Phantom, particularly the opus The Epilogue to Sanity, is the ever present "riff labyrinthe" by which Vermin employs extremely complex song writing skills to bring forth an atmosphere of pure descent into insanity.

Archangel is clearly some of the best black metal you will ever listen to.