Bloodisthin "Dearest Catharsis" CD

Descripción Raw and desolate Black Metal from Japan. Limited 300 copies

So after the stunning Peste Umbrarum album the next release from the Astral Nightmare roster I have been listening to comes from the Japanese one man project Bloodisthin. Sole member Sai has so far released one full length and a few EPs – one of which is subject to this review. “Dearest Carthasis” is the name of it and it comes with five songs and a running time of over 22 minutes so I would call this a decent amount of music for this format. As I am not familiar with the band’s other stuff I cannot really talk about any kind of progressions or how the outputs differ in quality. That being said I really like what I heard on this one so I might give the back catalogue a listen.

Let’s be honest: Bloodisthin do not reinvent the wheel or push the boundaries of the genre by any means. In fact this is more or less the kind of “bedroom black metal” which has gathered quite a bit of hype during the past few years. That being said Sai has manipulated the formula just enough to make his approach an enjoyable one. The guitar harmonies are more than solid and often carry a melancholic and mournful tone which in some ways makes the music feel mystical and distant and even depressive at times. The songs are also very raw at their core and the combination of these different aspects leads to some passages being particularly immersive and cacophonous at the same time.

The icy riffs and somewhat muffled production compliment both a forthright aggression and a droning sensibility. I assume that the drums are programmed and work as an element that is necessary for completing the whole picture, but they do add nothing extraordinary to write home about. Some truly ear-catching compositions are apparent with some even balancing the blackened bite with a distinctly doomy dread. There are some more measured and ethereal moments within the songs that slow the music down to a more mid-tempo pace, without losing any of the oppressive bleakness. The vocals are mixed into the background so they bring the feeling of a lost soul howling in pain from the other side. I am not sure if this was the intention behind or is just a result of the recording options available, but it really works in the band’s favor and further enhances the unsettling mood the music creates.

The EP closes out with the slow and intense “Dearest Carhtasis V”, a really worthy choice to end this output. If you are into black metal that is raw yet heavy on atmosphere and very stripped back in its presentation Bloodisthin might be worth a look. “Dearest Carthasis” has everything that a good black metal EP/demo should have: a raw production, a good feeling for the genre’s basics and talent to write some engaging guitar sequences, all coming together to create some oppressively dense and interesting music.

Sample:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qdrpoJlgRI&t=265s