Life's been hectic again and I'm as busy as ever. I'm back (hopefully not briefly) to send tremors through your soul with some thick, sludgy material drenched in the blackest bile: Rorcal's Világvége.
I hadn't heard of Rorcal prior to the release of Világvége, and after doing some research I expected them to be more typical sounding than they are here. Where doom would find it easy enough to trod through a mire at the pace of a happy sightseer, Rorcal's brand of doom is slowly sinking into the black muck and grasping at anything it can in a frenzied gambit for survival. The result is a powerful listen that flows like a river of mud above the listener's head. Világvége is coherent, emotive, and engaging from start to finish.
After briefly listening to Rorcal's previous output, longtime fans will find the opening of Világvége strikingly similar to that of the single track full-length Heliogabalus. A voluminous crash cymbal opens the chasm through which a river of black runs. Black metal elements are pervasive on Világvége but not to the point of dominating the heavy doom undertow. The riffs reflect this, often crawling along with the occasional right interval before hovering on a memorable tremolo riff that puts a big chunk of second-wave black metal to shame. "II" and "VII" are prime examples with the former having an aggressive black metal sound and the latter feeling beautifully estranged. It works in context with the rest of the album too, which is by and far Világvége's biggest boon. Each track really feels like it's in the right place. The music as well as the atmosphere and emotion of the album flow perfectly with the arrangement.
Floaty and darkly whimsical at times, Világvége isn't afraid to send you crashing back down into the bowels of the earth. "IV" is a great example of this, and it serves as the crack which lets the hammerblow tear the world asunder on "VI," by far the most vitriolic and disgusted track on the album. Appropriately the album builds up to this moment in increments, even adding an operatic sample to the end of a few of the preluding tracks ("V," and the cataclysmic chanting on "VII" which is sonically the second part of "IV", all three prelude "VI"). Anyway the desired effect is achieved in a nihilistic bombardment of hatred and negativity that can't be shrugged off by the thickest of souls.
The production and mixing are fine despite some minor complaints about the black metal aesthetic. It fits wonderfully. Dissonant chords and the occasional bright interval help Rorcal's musical cause throughout Világvége. While the riffs are interesting despite at times being simple, it's the percussion that really shines. Ron Lahvani utilizes great fills, militaristic snare raps, and has a general freeform use of his kit that adds fury where it's needed. Other times he's laid back and plays very sparse beats. His range is deserving of some serious applause. The whole damn album is. Though I guess I'd have to say "VIII" makes for an underwhelming, feedback-laden closer and on first listen Világvége does seem slow to start, it's still an excellent release that is compelling as a complete album.
I still want to give this a listen in the numerical order of the track titles. Dunno where I'd put "D" though.
8.75 out of 10
Tracklisting:
1. I
2. D
3. II
4. V
5. IV
6. VII
7. VI
8. VIII
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