Peccatum

Amor Fati (Candlelight)
by Scott Hefflon

Peccatum always kind of distresses me… It’s art metal (a mixture of post-black metal, classical, noise, sound trifles, poetry, shrieking, and all that anti-music whoo-ha “brilliant” musicians tinker with when they’ve been successful at everything else they’ve tried), and always seems self-indulgent, intentionally non-linear, impossible to grasp, shapeshifting merely because they can, and therefore more of an expressionistic exercise than any kind of shared trip with the listener. I always feel I’m supposed to be impressed, yet I’m not a part of what’s going on. Like I’m dared to dislike this chaos, which is to admit I don’t get it. I like the moments of Pink Floyd guitar heaviness at the end, and the classical tip-toeing is always a pleasure, even if it is kinda useless. And Ihriel’s vocals (like Dani Filth’s) are really diverse and impressive. So while I bicker and pay hesitant compliments, there are glimpses of beauty I wish they’d stay focused on – really work out and see where they go – instead of rushing off to explore some other facet of their artistic vision or whatthehellever. Track down the Oh My Regrets EP for a delightful cover of Priest’s “Blood Red Skies.”
(2 Elgin Ave. London, W9 3QP, U.K)