Haissem - Khaos Ebony Flame

 Haissem is a one man black metal band from Ukraine who formed in 2014.  The mastermind behind the project is Andrey Tollock, also from the doom band Sunset Forsaken (who just released a damn good album earlier in the year too).  

“Khaos Ebony Flame” is Haissem’s eighth full-length album, in addition to also having two EPS under the blackened belt.  Andrey has released something under this moniker every year since 2016—most musicians would get burnt out and stagnant at this rather impressive rate.  Not Andrey.  This dude is a beast and he only improves his craft with each release.

At a runtime of 37 minutes across 5 songs, “Khaos Ebony Flame,” is quite a bit shorter than last year's “Ad Cor Tenebrarum,” but there isn’t anything wrong with that.  The shorter length has allowed the song writing to be sharper, distilled down to the essence of what makes Haissem so great.  All the elements that make the band such a stand out act in black metal are refined, refocused, and presented expertly in “Khaos Ebony Flame.”  

The production captures the more menacing tone and harrowing nature of the songs. It’s definitely more raw than some of the past efforts but it isn’t overly so to the point of becoming disengaging from songwriting.  I appreciate how much focus there is on the bass, an instrument that black metal sometimes ignore or, at the least, gets buried under everything else.  

The mixing is pretty solid, however, which allows the bass to really stand out.  The keys stand out well too and it's impressive how well they work with the bass. The guitars are impressive as well—this isn’t nonstop tremolo riffs.  Andrey’s guitar playing is much more methodical and thoughtful than just playing unresolved tritones and nonstop riffs that go nowhere.  The true MVP of this album is the songwriting but it’s the guitars that move these ideas forward. 

The album opens with “Sui Generis,” and it brings with it ambient tones that creep up over time, immediately creating an unsettling atmosphere. The blackened growls throw out the lyrics with venomous bite as the bass and guitars dance around the textures created by the imaginative keys which sound more unique than some bands can pull off. The song structure is loose, even a little playful, and it left me guessing as to where the song was going to go next.  After the five minute mark, the song goes into progressive territory with dizzying and hypnotic guitar.

“Isfet,” carries over from the previous track, almost like it is a sequel.  This is a testament to the album’s cohesive nature and the relation of the songs to themselves and the album as a whole.  Basically, “Isfet,” helps reveal an album that take a lot of different directions but always makes sense in the bigger picture.

The vocals are deeper on this song, rumbling growls that clash against the exciting and theatrical keys.  The riffs are denser, static acid eating away at the fabric of the song’s reality.  As the song is eaten away, it builds itself back up again with groove laden riffs and spacey textures.  This song is nearly 9 minutes long but certainly doesn't feel like it. 

The halfway point of the album, “Ginnungagap,” brings back the proggy feel and it works so well.  The first minute of the song is the combination of the instruments seemingly playing different parts but coming together as one force.  This song is very guitar oriented but the rhythm section is just as powerful, providing a perpetually moving blackened death machine that is always looking to the next movement to grasp it’s clawed hands upon.  The keys near the end are swirling and even a little whimsical.

The final full-length song is “Tiamtu,” and it is very immediate.  By the time the 14 second mark is hit, growls have already ripped the spacey textures to shreds.  This song has such a cool, interesting structure and atmosphere.  It feels like it is being held together by these disparate elements, clinging to life as it seems to really to fall apart at any minute.  Perhaps my favorite of the five songs!

The last track is “Soak Kaos,” which is more of an instrumental outro but it fits the mood and themes of the album.

With “Khaos Ebony Flame,” Haissem’s sound has been pushed to the next level.  It is a black metal album that takes a different approach while fully embracing the mysterious ethos of the genre while showcasing the desire to step outside its rigid lines in a very successful way.