Deathspell Omega's new album finally ended up in the Season of Mist press pool, here are my first impressions:
There are actual dynamics! Fas was a two-note album, you had your ROOOOAAAR mode and then your completely quiet mode, that is not the case here. Songs get quieter/louder gradually and don't just cut off abruptly. Though this probably has something to do with Paracletus being intended to be a single continuous track, good on them in any case.
Mikko Aspa's vocals, while very distinctive, tend to be pretty one-note. The dude has put in the effort to shake things up a bit, which is always a good thing for black metal vocalists to do.
The guitars are much more audible than they were on Fas. The mix on their previous full-length was pretty insane, with a bottomless bottom-end and drums pushed way way up. On Paracletus, there is less murk and the drums are toned down to be less punishing. I suppose this makes sense, when taking into account the themes of the music. Fas was all about divine punishment, and while I don't have a great idea of what Paracletus is supposed to be about, I read the word itself is Greek for 'comfortor,' and is often used to refer to the Holy Sp--oh I guess now I am one of those guys that over-analyzes Deathspell's lyrical themes now goodie
Oh, and what would be a shrinking of bottom-end caused by the shrinking of murk is offset by an incredibly loud bass. Which suits me just fine.
