When I first listened this venomous piece of work called “ב:The Black Bile” Mgla came into my mind. Well…I wasn’t very far off since members The Fall and E.V.T. are live musicians of the above mentioned band. Luckily Medico Peste, active since 2010, has an own face and balances between a more melodic Deathspell Omega, the Black Metal era of Behemoth (think of “Pandemonic Incantations”) and with the more orthodox riffs a pinch of Mgla. Wen reading the biography of these Polish blacksters the word avant-garde is mentioned. This time it isn’t a gimmick because the riffs are unorthodox and quite unique giving this album an extra thrill. Themes such as madness, religion and nihilism form the core part of the band’s lyrics, accompanied by music which spawns fury infusing different musical spectrums.
With seven tracks, duration over 50 minutes, “ב:The Black Bile” sure enough to discover. With maniacal opener screams hailing from vocalist Lazarus, ditto guitar riffs, and some great bass rhythms on opener track “ God knows why” this song is a great start were aggressivity, melody and experiment meet. Follower up “All too Human” has some really cool riffs and simple yet effective drum patterns and ambient section which keeps this song fresh like a just cut wound. “Numinous Catastrophy”, with a great tension build op, and “Were Saviours Believers” , which is relative straight forward albeit with some real intriguing guitar riffs, are great to listen too. Or better said: delve into because the melodies and mood swings infused in the music give this dark piece of work an alternate dimension.
I guess I could explain all tracks for you. I just won’t. Whether it is the experimental guitar and drums on “Skin” , the slow and sinister sound of “Holy Opium” or aggressive sound of the finishing and title-track “The Black Bile”: if you like Black Metal infused experiments this album is well worth listening.
I must admit, although I really can appreciate this album there are some remarks. The sound is powerful and well produced albeit a bit stale. And sometimes I am missing some coherence throughout this album. That said, I thoroughly can enjoy this nihilistic piece of work. It shows this band are quality musicians and Medico Peste has great potential with future offspring. So if you like unconventional, experimental Black Metal you should really give this album a try.
Score: 7,8 / 10
Label: Seasons of Mist
Review made by: Erik
Track List:
1. God Knows Why (08:25)
2. 2. All Too Human (08:33)
3. 3. Numinous Catastrophy (07:10)
4. 4. Were Saviours Believers? (06:48)
5. 5. Skin (06:37)
6. 6. Holy Opium (05:48)
7. 7. The Black Bile (06:45)