Can you make ultra-raw, lo-fi, minimalistic black metal while retaining a machine-like, futuristic, dystopian feel instead of the usual "ancestral", mystical, anti-modernistic vibe usually conveyed by the genre? Or, even better, can you mix both these aesthetics simultaneously? To most seasoned underground metal listeners, the answer would be an obvious yes: it's 2023, we're all aware by now of stuff like Nyogthaeblisz or Tetragrammacide, whether we enjoy these bands or not. But for typical entry-level black metal listeners, this type of formula might be difficult and predictably counter-intuitive to imagine: they might mention bands like Anaal Nathrakh, Aborym or Dødheimsgard, but that kind of stuff ain't "lo-fi" or "minimalistic" in the slightest. So, how to convert them to the trve kvlt shit? Well, bands like Beherit did work for me, back when I was an uninitiated 16 year old metalhead. Since their "true" debut album "Drawing Down the Moon", these Finnish black metal weirdos have traded their initial ultra-chaotic, insanely blasting intensity (seminal for the foundation of the war metal subgenre) for a unique mixture of lo-fi minimalism and ambient-like, ritualistic elements. Their subsequent two albums would just be pure ambient stuff, but right before this stylistic shift (not uncommon for minimalistic black metal acts such as Burzum or Ildjarn), there was a little EP that flew over most people's heads. That EP was "Messe des Morts", with all likelihood the rawest, noisiest, craziest Beherit release ever, and a perfect prototype of the bizarre "lo-fi/sci-fi" combination I was just speaking of.
So, this is probably Beherit at its most basic and stripped down: this EP already sees Nuclear Holocausto all alone with his guitar and drum machine (no bass is apparently featured on here), pretty much like he would be on the next two full-lengths. Stylistically, "Messe des Morts" sees a return to the raw primitivism of earlier demos, while integrating (and further expanding on) the minimalistic, ritualistic experimentalism of "Drawing Down the Moon". The drum machine beats are as dry and haphazard as you'd expect (surprisingly no less sloppy than any Beherit record featuring a real drummer), going from ultra-minimal skanks to frantic, irregular blasts accelerating and slowing down unpredictably to almost sleepy levels before bursting again (for instance, the sudden blasting eruptions on "Seventh Blasphemy" are something out of this world) - all of it drenched in a blatantly synthetic, inhuman, dissociated sound, somewhat like R2-D2 trying to imitate D.D. Crazy for some incomprehensible reason. Riffing is just as restrained, going from ultra-basic chord strumming ("Satanic Chaos") to equally minimalistic tremolo runs owing a whole lot to Sarcófago; really, I don't think Beherit was ever as blatantly influenced by Sarcófago as on tracks like "Seventh Blasphemy" or "Messe des Morts", with all those sloppy tremolo phrases concluding in non-linear, counter-intuitive breaks. Even "The Oath of Black Blood", from a certain standpoint, may not be as basic and Brazilian-sounding as this release!
Like most other good minimalistic black metal, songs on "Messe des Morts" introduce a basic, circular idea (not unlike Sodom's early material), and then build over it to reach a thrilling climax emerging from the mayhem. That's where the experimental nature of this EP is revealed: the most apparent example of this kind of song structure is shown on opening track "Beherit", which blasts in with occult-sounding chords/tremolos and then, all of a sudden... that thing appears. It's most likely a synth, simply accenting a resolutive melody that releases all the tension built up by previous riffs - but it sounds so distorted, cacophonous and weird that it ends up almost freaking you out, making you feel a bit unnerved as if the weird monster under the bed you feared as a kid has come back to haunt you, if that makes any sense as a far-fetched paragon. Loud, boomy, granular noises or glitchy, weird synth sounds will randomly appear all throughout the EP, especially at the start or at the end of the tracks; all the songs will feature some other kind of weird culminations or interludes like the one mentioned for "Beherit" - as the minimalistic riff cycles reach their natural conclusions, usually featuring some more weird synths, sampled noises, ritualistic organs and weird echo-laden, processed vocals (including the now legendary "schizophrenic sounds, mystical chaos, total orgasm" verse during the middle break of "Seventh Blasphemy").
Oh yeah... the vocals. You can't really talk about "Messe des Morts" without mentioning them, and how utterly fucking insane they sound. I mean, what the flying fuck is that? If "Messe des Morts" is an occult ritual put on tape, then most of its vocal tracks sound like a loud, chaotic, violent zoophilic orgy in the name of whatever evil deity is being worshipped here. Some of Holocausto's trademark evil whispers are still featured (most notably on "Beherit"), but as the EP progresses, you are confronted with more and more appalling vocal choices, making you wonder about the man's sanity during this recording session. There are so many weirdly processed, digitally distorted vocal tracks and animal-like noises throughout these songs that at some point you can't even catch all of them anymore, as immersive of an experience "Messe des Morts" really is. "Beherit" is filled with bestial snarls seemingly shouted through a megaphone, the vocals for "Satanic Chaos" are as random as you can ever imagine and end up sounding like monkeys having an orgasm while another robotic voice babbles some more unintelligible stuff, "Seventh Blasphemy" traumatizes you some more with those overly loud distorted screeches coming out of nowhere without warning (again, what the flying fuck is that), and the title-track starts relatively normal with usual black metal snarls before adding some "lo-fi speaker" type vocals along with overwhelming digital noises and blast-beats which sound even more out-of-control than usual, concluding the EP with a near-apocalyptic climax that places a strong emphasis on the "futuristic" aesthetics of this material.
What the fuck did we just hear? I don't know exactly, but I've always loved it. "Messe des Morts" is one of my all-time favorite Beherit releases, and one of my favorite examples of how much you can do with a very limited set of ingredients. This EP sounds like a satanic ritual transmitted through very disturbed frequencies from a dystopian future where technology has driven people mad and they're now resorting to any crazy, irrational mean to gain their sanity back (wait, does it sound any familiar? I'm so surprised). These four songs are near-nonsensical in nature (despite still retaining some degree of rigid, minimalistic structure), and yet they've always fascinated me on a deep, visceral level - perhaps due to their stark contrast between lo-fi primitivism and rich, experimental electronic texture which ultimately makes "Messe des Morts" a hell of a ride, one that challenges your sanity and your preconceptions about minimalistic black metal, sounding even more harsh and extreme than Ildjarn ever did. Avant-garde, forward-thinking genius or just a bad hallucinogenic trip by a batshit insane Finnish weirdo fucking around in some dusty studio? I don't care either way: it's still an awesome, irrationally haunting release.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=ddc1-ie7C04
