http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/DeathspellOmega

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Come, Thou Sanctifier, almighty and eternal God, Epiklesis note Specifically, "Epiklesis I" and bless this sacrifice prepared for the glory of Thy Holy Name

Deathspell Omega are an avant garde Black Metal band founded in Poitiers, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, in 1998. This is very nearly the only thing that is known for certain about them, as we will discuss shortly. Alongside Blut aus Nord and Alcest, they are probably that country's most famous black metal export. They are notable for their unconventional approach to the genre, eschewing black metal's traditional Three Chords and the Truth philosophy in favor of a far more complex approach that makes use of incredibly intricate, difficult music and erudite, philosophical lyrics that usually deal with metaphysical Satanism (the band has stated that "all other interpretations of Satan are intellectually invalid"). But let's not get too ahead of ourselves just yet. They are also considered part of the "orthodox black metal" movement, which does not refer to their highly unorthodox musical style but rather to their theistic Satanism (in contrast with atheistic satanists like King Diamond and Akercocke; other orthodox black metal artists include Ondskapt, Funeral Mist, Watain, and S.V.E.S.T.).

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They are also notable for their extreme reclusiveness, even by Black Metal standards; none of the current band members' identities are known for certain and they did not give a single interview between 2004 (with Ajna Offensive) and 2019 (with Bardo Methodology) . Their most recent interview was conducted in 2020 with the webzine Cult Never Dies . The bulk of the information that is known about their membership is apparently sourced from email interviews with their first vocalist, Shaxul. The band was evidently founded by guitarist Hasjarl (real name Christian Bouche) along with Shaxul, a bassist known only as Khaos, and a drummer by the name of Yohann Pasquier, originally intended as a side project to the band Hirilorn, which all except Khaos were members of. Yohann is The Pete Best and appears only on the band's demo. No one outside the band knows who plays drums on their subsequent recordings; it's been suggested that Hasjarl's brother (no known name or pseudonym) is the drummer, but no one knows for certain. This is another recurring theme for the band; their last recording to credit individual musicians was in 2002. (The band has Jossed speculations that most of their recordings use a drum machine, indicating that only the first four tracks on Infernal Battles employed one.)

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Shaxul left the band in 2002 because of his distaste for their evolving direction towards orthodox Satanism, which became their primary lyrical theme from 2004 through 2012. A common speculation is that Finnish metal musician Mikko Aspa (of Clandestine Blaze, Stabat Mater, and numerous other projects) replaced him, but neither Aspa nor the band have ever explicitly confirmed this.

Particularly after Shaxul's departure, they evolved from a fairly Three Chords and the Truth style inspired primarily by Darkthrone on their earliest recordings to some of the most musically and lyrically sophisticated and erudite output in a genre frequently noted for Straw Nihilist lyrical stances. Their music frequently incorporates influences not commonly found in black metal, including church chants and twentieth-century classical music. The lyrics commonly incorporate obscure bits of scripture and theological commentary, as well as numerous (mostly French) literary sources, most notably the surrealist Georges Bataille.

Deathspell Omega's primary works during the 2004-2012 era were a series of three Concept Albums dealing with God, Satan, and humanity's relationship with the above, respectively 2004's Si monumentum requires, circumspice (Latin for If You Will Seek a Monument, Look Around You), 2007's Fas - ite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum (Latin for Divine Law - Depart, Ye Accursed, into Everlasting Flame), and 2010's Paracletus (Latin for Comforter, a word commonly used to refer to the Holy Ghost). During this time they also released a series of EPs and split albums totalling up to about two additional hours of music on their part. In 2012, they released a box set of seven LPs containing all their recordings during this period.

After a four-year silence, the band unexpectedly announced the release of their sixth full-length album, 2016's The Synarchy of Molten Bones, a few weeks before it was to drop. Musically, it served as something of a synthesis and refinement of their work since 2004; lyrically, it described an apocalypse, which was hardly unexpected from them, but it incorporated a massive influence from Greek mythology, which was.

Two and a half years later, they once again unexpectedly announced their seventh full-length album, 2019's The Furnaces of Palingenesia, which was recorded live in the studio. Lyrically, this album has proved an even bigger surprise; they have left the world of metaphysics behind in favour of a terrifying political dystopia, presented from the perspective of a would-be dictator, that has earned comparisons to George Orwell's classic novel Nineteen Eighty Four. The band's intended message is fiercely anti-authoritarian, as confirmed in their June 2019 interview with Bardo Methodology (link above). This is the subject of no small irony, as we will discuss shortly, but the Bardo interview confirms that the "French core of the collective... is the creative core and source of music and lyrics", and they are firmly opposed to authoritarianism of all stripes. The band states:

"[A] lot of our narrative is based on the quintessence of actual historical writings: first and foremost, the voice of the utopians-turned-murderers and of their countless passive accomplices. Academic literature which coldly and scientifically dissected and deconstructed the mental patterns at work. The testimony of the victims, eventually, ghastly voices whose screams are todays world whether you want to hear them or not."

The album attracted no small degree of controversy, however, because the band's presumed vocalist, Mikko Aspa, has ties to authoritarian politics. The Needle Drop, for instance, originally gave the album a favourable review, but evidently pulled the video after becoming aware of Aspa's political associations. The band themselves comment on the ideological chasm within the band (and, more implicitly, the controversy surrounding the album) in the Bardo interview, without explicitly referring to any of their members by name:

"A minority of the collectives contributors  shall we say, parts of the second circle  whove been invited to partake because of their incredible talents as musicians are involved with earthly politics, but stand on completely opposite ends of the political spectrum and are therefore irreconcilable political foes. Were it not for dialogue on the grounds of transgressive art, theyd be shooting each other. That tension is what interests us. Its also an echo of more complex days  times when childhood friends Aragon the communist, Malraux the Gaullist and Drieu La Rochelle the fascist, while never reneging on their respective irreconcilable combats, for years lost neither the ability for sincere and profound dialogue nor their admiration for each others unique talents ."

The likeliest reading is that Aspa is involved with the band as a session vocalist, and that they strongly oppose each other's political stances but are nonetheless willing to work with one another for the sake of their music. It is also speculated that Aspa may no longer even be the band's only vocalist (if indeed he ever was a member of the band - again, all information on the band membership after 2002 is purely a matter of conjecture, since it has never been confirmed by any official sources); since at least Paracletus, there have been several passages in many of their songs that seemingly contain two vocalists using substantially different styles, and Furnaces being a live release would certainly suggest that there must be at least two vocalists. The most common hypotheses for the second vocalist are Spica of S.V.E.S.T., a band with whom Deathspell has released a split albumnote They released splits with Aspa's bands Clandestine Blaze and Stabat Mater before he is assumed to have joined the band, so this isn't a completely off-the-wall hypothesis.; and Franck Hueso of Carpenter Brut, a fellow Poitiers musician whom Tobias Forge of Ghost has cited as having produced several of Deathspell's albums.

A further note should be made on the subject of Mind Screw and Viewers Are Geniuses. Their lyrics frequently contain phrases in several languages, and they are written in grammatically correct Antiquated Linguistics with Purple Prose and Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness aplenty. They are a textbook example of Tropes Are Tools on this count: their employment of these devices is commonly considered to make their lyrics all the more effective. On the musical count, it should be noted that while they possess immense and obvious musical skill, their music is most assuredly not for everyone. It is incredibly dark both musically and lyrically, and it is some of the heaviest music in a genre known for being musically uncompromising. You have been warned.

While they don't have an official website, they did set up a Bandcamp where you can stream and purchase their music. It's a good way to sample their music if you're not sure whether you're ready to dive in. Some good tracks for newcomers to get their feet wet are the prayers, "Carnal Malefactor", and "Malign Paradigm" from Si monumentum requires, circumspice; "Apokatastasis pantôn" from Paracletus; and "Salowe Vision" and "The Crackled Book of Life" from Drought. If these are too heavy for you, you're not ready for the rest of their discography yet.

Full discography

Studio albums Infernal Battles (2000)

Inquisitors of Satan (2002)

Si monumentum requires, circumspice (2004)

Fas - Ite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum (2007)

Paracletus (2010)

The Synarchy of Molten Bones (2016) note Despite being classed as an album, this is actually shorter than Kénôse

The Furnaces of Palingenesia (2019) note Live Album of sorts, though recorded in a studio EPs Kénôse (2005)

Veritas diaboli manet in aeternum: Chaining the Katechon (2008) note Also released as a split with S.V.E.S.T. entitled simply Veritas diaboli manet in aeternum

Mass Grave Aesthetics (2008) note re-release of track from 2005's From the Entrails to the Dirt four-way split

Diabolus absconditus (2011) note re-release of track from 2005's Crushing the Holy Trinity six-way split; also re-released at this time as an LP with "Mass Grave Aesthetics" on the other side

Drought (2012) Other releases: Disciples of the Ultimate Void (1999, demo)

Demoniac Vengeance (2000, split with Sob a lua do bode by Moonblood)

Split with Clandestine Blaze (2001)

Split with Mütiilation (2002)

From the Entrails to the Dirt (2005, split with Malicious Secrets, Antaeus, and Mütiilation)

Crushing the Holy Trinity (2005, split with Stabat Mater, Musta Surma, Clandestine Blaze, Mgła, and Exordium)

Manifestations 2000-2001 (2008, compilation) note Tracks from their splits with Moonblood and Mütiilation and the Black Metal Blitzkrieg compilation)

Manifestations 2002 (2008, previously unreleased material)

First picture disc box (2009, 5-LP compilation of the band's 1999-2002 material, including both Manifestations releases and their side of the split with Clandestine Blaze)

Second picture disc box (2012, 7-LP compilation of the band's 2004-2012 material)

Tropes specifically applicable to The Furnaces of Palingenesia can be found on the page for that album. Tropes applicable to other albums in their discography, to their discography as a whole, or to the band themselves can be found below.

Tropes: