Chaos Moon- Languor into Echoes, Beyond

Artist: Chaos Moon
Album: Languor into Echoes, Beyond
Label: Ars Magna Recordings

Chaos Moon is the black metal project of one man from Tennessee that goes by the name of Esoterica. "Languor into Echoes, Beyond" is one of two albums released by Chaos Moon this year. This one was released on Ars Magna Recordings as a counter album of sorts to the second album, "Origin of Apparition" out on Wraith Productions. "Languor into Echoes, Beyond" is a two part album. From the opening of "De Mortalitate" until about the 2:50 mark on "The Palterer" you have raw black metal filled with blast beats, hyper speed picking and Esoterica's howling screams. After you hit that mark there is a different beast all together contained within this album. You are hit with ambient keyboard melodies that up until that point were only in the background. Esoterica brings them right out into the open on "The Palterer" and uses them to create an atmosphere made up of equal parts beauty and ugliness. "Hymn To Iniquity" and the 12 minute "Countless Reverie In Mare" shows him blending these two alternate paths perfectly to create a really well done release. I'm not so much of a fan of the ambient black metal, preferring more of a raw style similar to the first half of the album but the way Esoterica has put this together works really well. With more listens I have found this album to be highly enjoyable and an excellent mix of the old and the new in the black metal world. Definitely get a copy of this album!