Ipsissimus is the intense technical black metal trio of bassist/vocalist Tichondrius, guitarist His Emissary, and drummer Haimatokharmes, three excellent players from New Haven, Connecticut. (They reportedly met on 6/6/06…) I’ve always loved that they’re from New Haven — home of Yale, sure, but also home of plenty of shootings, and a much less unlikely satanic black metal stomping ground than you might assume. Fittingly, there’s an urban violence to the music, a rough East Coast death-metal nastiness and dank, deep atmosphere encasing the esoteric/philosophical occult howls. The band’s 6-song, 45-minute full-length debut The Way of Descent, which follows a 2007 demo Trampling The Host, includes a seamless update on the three tracks from the 2008 Three Secrets of Fatima EP plus three new ones. As far as the subject matter you might think of Absu (the music is “often composed in the dead tongues of the ancients themselves,” “the title aims to encapsulate the lyrical matter of the new songs, which deal with various katagogic themes in Gnostic, Luciferian, and Merkavah traditions as applied to Left Hand ethics and praxis,” etc.), but this is a much rawer, angrier, imploded beast. That said, they don’t skimp on catchy riffs, avant flourishes, or actual hooks — you’ll just need to spend time unpacking it all. Here’s the suffocating opener.

Ipsissimus – “The Third Secret of Fatima”

The Way of Descent is out 5/24 via Metal Blade. You can pre-order it now. The band mentions it may very well by the first black metal album to make use of a waterphone. Anyone? Some shows:

04/29 – Somerville, MA @ PA’s Lounge #

04/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary !

05/01 – Milford, CT @ Daniel St $

05/02 – New York, NY The Studio @ Webster Hall &&

05/05 – Worcester, MA @ Ralph’s Diner ^

05/21 – Wallingford, CT @ Cherry St. Station ((

# w/ Black Anvil, Nachzehrer

! w/Krallice, Withered

$ w/ Krallice, Black Anvil, WIthered

&& w/ Krallice, Withered, Cleric

^ Ravage, Scaphism, and Nocuous

(( w/ Nightbitch