Norwegian black metallers Misotheist present their fourth full-length via Terratur Possessions and distributed by Amor Fati Productions. De Pinte is the follow up to 2024’s Vessels By Which The Devil Is Made Flesh.

MISOTHEIST

Misotheist seem to be a bit of an enigma in the black metal world. It isn’t known when the band formed, only that they crawled out of the black mire with their first self-titled outing in 2018. Since then, the anonymous group from Trondheim, Norway have released three albums each spewing forth their interpretation of darkness, blast beats and anguished screams. I, personally, hadn’t had the pleasure of experiencing their prior outings so was anxious to dive deep into their version of blackened squalor. 

A ferocious opening

Keeping in the spirit of all things unsettling and “metal” the album opens with around 45 seconds of eerie synth and indistinguishable croaks and noises. Before long harsh cultish vocals break out, building to a climax of an unsheathing blade. The guitars then burst forth and we launch unforgivingly into Unanswered Thrice, the album’s opening track.

Atmospherically, this album is absolutely crushing and relentless. The drums pound out with unstoppable force, blast beats crashing throughout Unanswered Thrice. At just under 6 minutes this is the shortest track on the album and acts as a short, sharp punch to the old ear holes. Misotheist use this opener to show you that they aren’t mucking about. They’re here to provide one thing; unfiltered Norwegian black metal with all its harshness and ferocity intact. The attitude comes across as, ‘Yeah, we’re here to deliver.  Don’t like it? F*** off!’

Blinded And Revealed has a few seconds of quiet guitar intro then, almost as if pulled straight from a horror film jump-scare, the entire band leaps out from the darkness to menacingly erupt into their fully-fledged sound. This track drips with evil maliciousness with vocals cutting through the noise like a machete through unsuspecting campers at Crystal Lake.

The guitars provide a glorious foundation upon which the drumming shines with unrelenting blast beats and crashing symbols which makes the whole track pop and come alive in the ear. There’s a section just before the halfway mark of this 7:23 minute song where things temporarily shift down in speed. Sweet unholy father did that get me banging my head with the stankiest of stank faces! Truly inspiring stuff!

heretical musings

Kjetterdom is up next and it has a slower vibe than what we’ve heard so far. Although, it comes across as a desperate, malevolent black mass with credit to the anonymous vocalist for bringing an outstanding atmosphere to the track with his pained screams and forlorn cries. Kjetterdom is loosely translated as “Heresy” and I completely agree that this oppressive sounding dirge is rife with heretical sounds. The slower tempo and trance-like state this song induces does come across as the band lulling the listener into a malleable state of consciousness; prepping them for conversion to their sect of unspeakable malpractice. 

the tormented

So, we come to the final track of the album, and the monicker for the entire experience, De Pinte. It may seem a lot to have the whole name of the album being synonymous with just one song. However, when that song clocks in at over 21 minutes in length, and makes up for roughly half of the album’s runtime, it makes sense. 

Soothing strings play us into this final track, and coming after the sinisterly sedated Kjetterdom, this flows nicely as part of the album’s progression and allows us to take a breather. However, soon enough the sound of foreboding horns are added to the mix as if to remind us that all is not well. Then drums, drums in the deep. A chugging rhythm emerges through the strings accompanied by piercing guitars. Just as you think you’re safe, the grotesque guttural swamp-monster vocals cry out creating a suffocating noise that conjures images of things that ooze and crawl through filth. This sludgy bog of delights continues until just under 6 minutes when the swamp erupts with black metal sinfulness. The blast beats come back with a vengeance and the pacing rushes forth like the hounds of hell are at their very heels.

Over ambitious?

The only issue that I have with a black metal track of this ambitious length is that it can be difficult to keep the pacing up throughout the entire runtime. We’re lucky enough on this album to have three extremely tight, concise tracks with no time for filler. There are times during De Pinte that you may feel the pace begin to drag a bit, but almost as if to spit in the face of naysayers, whenever I felt this myself, the ferocity came back and doubled down with added ‘f*** you’ spirit and grit. I found myself pleasantly humbled whenever I found this to happen (e.g. around the 14min mark) and smiled like a loon when they so disturbingly, and elegantly, proved me wrong. Despite my initial misgivings of a 21 minute pure black metal track, I can say that this opus is well worth the extended runtime. 

Verdict

On the whole, Misotheist have added an absolute banger of an album to their catalogue with De Pinte. Translated, it means “The Tormented” and I understand why with a sound throughout the album that is fierce, unrelenting, melancholic and a true representation of what modern Norwegian Black Metal could, and should, be. 

Immense props to the vocalist for belching forth some of the more impressive vocals that I’ve heard on a black metal album in some time. However, the whole outfit comes together in a truly impressive fashion. Misotheist have created a sound on De Pinte that doesn’t loose any of the attitude or ungodly atmosphere of Norwegian Black Metal’s heyday and yet keeps the sound fresh and more (dare I say) accessible(?) to the newer listener. 

Misotheist: Bandcamp (Terratur Possessions)

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