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De Magia Veterum- The Divine Antithesis Review
by Matt Hensch
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The maniacal Dutchman known as Mories (or simply 'M' here) continues his morbid purge into the darkest corners of the human mind throughout "The Divine Antithesis," the stuff of nightmares. Calling the album a twisted, schizophrenic journey into Hell would be a gross understatement; the De Magia Veterum project signals more depravity and torment than an insane asylum. Beneath the carnivorous wave of distortion and loud blast beats lies a demented slice of mincing influences one could dub avant-garde, perhaps the defining factor of this musical lunacy. Shakespeare was right: Hell is empty, and all the devils really are here.
The seven-song doctrine follows an unconventional pattern throughout its routine, most of the time slicing the sonic atmosphere with blaring percussion placed way above everything else and strange black metal riffs orchestrated through bizarre sequences next to vocals usually located in shriek-laden territory. Not a whole lot changes from this formula, but the thirty-five minute escapade remains surprisingly fresh between M's uncharacteristic exploration of violent spiritualism despite a hazy distinction among his material. The only thing that truly blows about this album is its production, which is so poor and floppy I'm sure it was recorded on an analog tape older than Jesus himself; it actually becomes pretty difficult to fully understand just what in the world is going on at some points, and that's being kind.
Nevertheless, the remaining chapters of "The Divine Antithesis" are pretty genuine, though, at least with what the album offers ninety-percent of the time. The bends and shadows are filling enough to at least hook the listener's attention, and that's the real deal-sealer here. Best moments? Gotta say "Torn Between Ruins, Faith, and the Divine," a ghostly number with violins ghoulishly tied into the audio assault so sloppily that it kind of works, and the extraterrestrial chords and virtuoso guitar solo throughout "Angelical Deformity" which morbidly shines in its own unique way. The whole album sounds like a dismembered angel moaning in agony after its body was severed and randomly stitched together by a psychopathic surgeon. Take it as you will, but dont expect The Divine Antithesis to ever submit in this world or the next.
Most will disregard "The Divine Antithesis" as clattering noise, a claim that isn't completely false by some measures. However, the album has a number of noteworthy moments living within its blasphemous halls that bring the estranged record to a new level of twisted brilliance, albeit a flawed one at that. De Magia Veterum is an interesting project; there's more than what meets the eye, and that makes the angel-dismembering album at least worth mention. Something so crazy will only attract a select crowd, so don't even bother with this unless your nerves can withstand the constant bombardment of parched tongues and acts of the unspeakable.
De Magia Veterum- The Divine Antithesis Rating:7.0
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