It had been eight long years since Violent Magic Orchestra’s last album, 2016’s Catastrophic Anonymous, so their latest long player, the intriguingly-titled DEATH RAVE (released in 2024), came with a certain amount of expectation. However, it’s not as if the band have been inactive and they’ve left an EP and singles in their wake, but in the world of metal, albums take primacy and are the way bands mark the passage of time. Fusing the band’s love of electronic black metal and experimental noise rock, DEATH RAVE proves the old adage true; good things do indeed come to those who wait.
When a bunch of narcissistic teenagers formulated what is now known as “True Norwegian Black Metal” in the early ‘90s, it was never intended to be heard outside their immediate circle. Despite their best endeavours, the genre has spread over the globe like cracks appearing in ice and can now be found in every continent. It was only natural that when black metal reached Japanese ears it would, like most musical imports from the West, be transfigured and turned into something new. When they formed in 2015, Violent Magic Orchestra’s manifesto was to fuse two opposing music genres with the intention of “making people very angry”, and that’s precisely what they did. Not only with their incendiary sound, but also via their epilepsy-inducing live show. Love or hate them, Violent Magic Orchestra are guaranteed to initiate a reaction, and that’s precisely what their sophomore album does.
Those who’ve experienced Violent Magic Orchestra (VMO) live will know it’s an experience you’ll never forget; it is a sonic assault, a sensory overload that’ll leave you feeling emotionally drained at the gig’s conclusion (if you make it that far). DEATH RAVE is a continuation of their live show; opening track PLANET HELVETECH is very cinematic, a darkly ambient piece of music to entice you into the band’s world. Its title alludes to Helvete (the infamous Black Metal hangout) and techno music, the two combining to make the band’s unique sound. DEATH RAVE doubles the running time of its predecessor, and subsequently it feels far more satisfying. The extended form allows the band to investigate new textures and build soundscapes, as they do on the following WARP. It feels as if the album has two introductions, with both creating an ethereal, otherworldly feel, meaning that when The Destroyer hits, it hits hard.
Playing any type of crossover, or fusing different styles of music, is no easy task; fumble the ball and a band can find themselves in a type of musical no-man’s-land and with no appreciable audience to play to. Until I heard Violent Magic Orchestra, I never conceived that such a fusion would be possible, that the diametrically opposed black metal and techno could exist in perfect harmony, yet they do and push sonic extremes even further. It means that tracks such as Choking Persuasion are jaw-dropping and spellbinding and will force you to stop whatever you are doing and give it your undivided attention. While the band’s debut LP felt like a collection of songs, DEATH RAVE feels more like an old school album, and it should be treated as such; listen from start to finish to fully appreciate its culmination and ebb and flow.
If it wasn’t for the conviction with which these songs are performed, Violent Magic Orchestra could be construed as a novelty act, but the fact that this album features guest appearances from Attila Csihar (black metal legends Mayhem) and Dylan Walker (grindcore bruisers Full Of Hell) suggests you should take them very, very seriously.
Tracklisting:
1. PLANET HELVETECH
2. WARP
3. The Destroyer (electric utilities version)
4. Choking Persuasion
5. Kokka
6. Welcome to DEATH RAVE
7. Satanic Violence Device
8. MARTELLO MOSH PIT
9. Venom
10. Abyss
11. Ecsedi Báthory Erzsébet
12. SUPERGAZE
13. FYRE
14. Song for the moon
15. Flapping Dragon Wing
DEATH RAVE is available digitally, but also as a physical relase.
