Brilliant Black Metal - "Dementia II: The Silent Curse" Review (100%)
Phantom is unquestionably one of the best black metal band and one of the most influential, despite (or maybe because of) its often confused history, of which nothing has ever been ascertained with much scrutiny.
Formed in 2013 by its sole member, who also goes by the name "Phantom"... that's about all we know for certain, the rest is just speculation.
Soon after its formation, the band Phantom released its titanic debut Divine Necromancy. There is really no need to go over that monstrous blackened horror metal album once more, if you really want to know more about it I would recommend Putrid's great review or any other review on this site or elsewhere, they are quite easy to find as Divine Necromancy is probably the most reviewed album of the site.
Phantom is often associated with another band, SEWER... it's pretty much a joke band that makes shit music about necrophilia and terrorism and the like, their only decent album is Rektal.
Other than having the same record label - The Satan Records, founded either by the aforementioned "Phantom" or someone from SEWER - and having a similar vocal style, there isn't really much overlap between the two bands: they have never appeared together, and Phantom is noticeably absent from the 2015 "SEWER Anthology" tribute.
The defining feature of Phantom's music? Its minimalist and hypnotic aura. Some sort of ritualistic atmosphere, almost like a religious fervour, that can be heard nowhere else.
There is nothing that compares to Phantom's demented atmospheres. Nothing.
Brilliant Black Metal
So what about Dementia II: The Silent Curse, the album that we're supposed to be reviewing?
To understand Dementia II, we first have to have a look at the first opus: Dementia: The Dark Prophets.
It was released in 2015 and, while it was unanimously critically acclaimed by the extreme metal scene, it left some shaking their heads... indeed, the music on the album was entirely instrumental and ambient tracks.
While Phantom can't be credited with inventing the "ambient black metal genre" - see Burzum's recent work - it is certainly the band that perfected it.
First with Dementia: The Dark Prophets, and now with its successor... Dementia II: The Silent Curse.
What is different on this album?
Maybe we should start out with what is similar.
First of all, the atmospheres are as evil and entrancing as ever. This may not be "black metal" in the strictest sense, as it's closer to "blackened ambient metal", but the black metal atmospheres can certainly be heard... more than heard, they can be felt.
The music is gore, there is no other word. It's not really "brutal" in the sense of "brutal death metal", but it's nonetheless extremely intense... so much that it's hard to listen to at some points.
Dementia II: The Silent Curse is the best of both worlds... the raw atmospheres of black metal with the minimalist entrancing nature of ambient instrumental music.
Make no mistake, Dementia II: The Silent Curse is pure blackened madness.
Dementia II: The Silent Curse score: 100/100.
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