Re-released on white pro tape limited to 300 handnumbered copies by Fog of the Apocalypse in June 2010.
The line-up of VI is shaped by INVRI (Aosoth, ex-Antaeus) on guitars and vocals, BST (Aosoth, ex-Antaeus, The Order Of Apollyon) on bass and Blastum (ex-Aosoth, ex-Antaeus, Merrimack) on drums. Their music bestirs within the characteristic black metal niche developed by the said bands, with the addition of expanded guitar work, choirs and subtle sample parts. VI describes their music as "extreme, devoted black metal with illuminated chaos".
"De Praestigiis Daemonum" was recorded in 2007 in BST Studio, prior to Blastum's joining. Instead, BST himself took care of drum programming for this release.
I stumbled upon VI because of their connection with Aosoth, with whom they share two members. I am a big fan of the latter, so I was really hoping to hear something similar in matters of quality. After some listens I have to say that we’re dealing with something very good in this EP. “De Praestigiis Daemonum” consists of four tracks that range within the same musical levels. This French duo seems to have adopted the modern sound that we also hear in bands like Aosoth and Temple of Baal. By modern I don’t mean anything pretentious or mainstream shit that are very popular in our days, but I use this word in order to separate their music from the raw and primitive sound of the Nordic black metal scene. In this case guitars have done a great work, with aggressive riffs that brim with nihilism and torment. The rhythm section is very steady and has the starring role, giving this whole release a majestic and ominous atmosphere that causes awe. An interesting addition exists in the fourth and final track that begins with an intro of a choir that returns at the final three minutes, but its repetition sounded a bit unnecessary to me after some point.
Production is very clear and attributes the music with great volume, though I’d like to hear the bass a bit more since it could make the result even more crushing and intense. At this point I also want to stress the drum presence. Though the drums are electronic as stated in the EP information, an excellent work has been done since they don't sound plastic or fake at all. Quite the contrary, they sound as natural as possible, with some great changes and even some military beats at times that revealed a different aspect of this work. Unfortunately lyrics are not available, but from the translation of the really long track titles I guess they are dealing with Satanism, death and anti-Christianity, some rather typical subjects.
For a debut release, “De Praestigiis Daemonum” shows some great potential and I will definitely keep an eye out for future works from these guys. VI set the bar high from their very first steps, and it would be great if they could keep up this kind of quality.
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