Prometheus "Resonant Echoes From Cosmos of Old" Review

Just in time for spooky season, Greek Lovecraftian lecturers weave a dreadful tale as old as time and space.

    Brace yourselves for something absolutely shocking: everything on this record has been done before, much in the way that any chord progressions in modern pop music have already been done before. But the real important question is, have all these elements and influences been packaged together in this way before? I think not, and this is what sets Prometheus apart from their peers in both the death metal and black metal spheres. After all, who else is bridging this astronomical gap between the two genres with such panache?

    When you take either Resonant Echoes From Cosmos of Old or Consumed in Flames (the group’s first outing) at even a casual listen, both the death and black metal influences are obvious: a helping of Nile, a dash of Emperor, two pinches of Immortal, and deglaze the pan with some Morbid Angel. But it’s how all these elements are so harmoniously baked in that makes this a recipe worth digging in to. I don’t know what’s in the water over in Italy to make the crew at I, Voidhanger Records so adept at finding bands with such strong voices and phenomenal writing chops but these guys are no exception. Consumed in Flames seemed much more Nile-influenced than anything else (especially with “Seth” sounding like it could’ve been an outtake from Annihilation), but there was so much more bubbling under the surface that it’s hard to tell why it didn’t gain the band more traction in the scene. The trio’s crushing aesthetic was well-matched by some accompanying synth work and an exceptional job behind the mixing board to give their initial effort a very polished sound, but one need only check the Bandcamp page to see how praised the LP was (at the time of this writing, the album has 3 visible supporters; disappointing for such an impressive opening, to say the least). But then again, maybe the subject matter, and by extension, naming/titling is to blame: after all, Hellenic mysticism has always been a popular choice among metal groups and really for musicians in general (don’t believe me? Just search Spotify for “Prometheus” alone and dozens of artists appear with some form of it incorporated into their moniker, none of which have anything to do with our Greek friends here), though I think no one can lay more claim to that choice than someone actually from the country of origin. So I think the issue was not related to one of musical content, but of marketing, which is not uncommon for lesser-known metal acts. But here we are in 2020, and I, Voidhanger, who have steadily been gaining steam after a multitude of extremely solid releases from a wide array of remarkable artists, have decided to host Prometheus for their sophomore effort.

    There’s no denying the appeal of the works of H.P. Lovecraft (noting that this is our second review in a week with albums relating to him… Alexa! Remind me to find metal dealing with topics other than cosmic horror…). His stories and mythos have been adapted or inspired works many times over through a wealth of different mediums, including in the video game realms of Bloodborne and Amnesia, to a tabletop game series called “Call of Cthulhu”. Nile themselves have adopted several themes from the mythos into their music, along with many other death/black metal artists, and it’s not hard to see why: Lovecraft, in his 47 years on this planet, created a universe of creatures and stories that have entertained readers for practically a century now, making enthralling stories about horrors that lie beyond even the wildest imaginations, which I’m sure appeals most of all to writers of lyrics for these particular genres, given their fixation with frightening subject matter while still wishing to entertain listeners. So why shouldn’t Prometheus (specifically their resident vocalist/lyricist Aggelos) choose this direction for their latest album, especially if they are passionate about the mythos and draw inspiration from it?

    We begin our journey with “Gravitons Passing Through Yog-Sothoth”, and as the title immediately indicates, our lecturers are beginning the lesson with an introduction to a central character in the mythos in the eponymous Yog-Sothoth, and for the uninitiated, they are a being who seems to be omnipotent and resides outside our universe as an observer. This seems to be a common theme in Lovecraftian lore, where many of the Ancient Ones are able to view vast swaths of time and space and likewise do not view humans as beings of particular consequence. So this presents a problem for Prometheus: how do you translate the sheer sense of scale of the subject matter into something easily digestible for the average listener’s palette? Well I must say this is tackled in different ways depending on the song, but in general the trio have opted for a more reverb-laden sound compared to Consumed in Flames, and thus the powerful, droning leads alongside neutron-star weighted percussion tend to spiral off into the cosmos rather than blast your eardrums. Aggelos’ vocals come mostly in the form of far-off spectral gasps which are quieted to a whisper by the time they traverse the light-years it takes to reach us, to nightmarish effect. The opener mostly consists of fairly slow tremolo strumming which conveys the grandiose of our titular character and the spectacle to come on further tracks, but does break down into some open strumming and blast beats with a poignant synth motif which repeats throughout. There’s also some background chanting which at some points is barely at levels above audible in the mix; a nice touch to add some subtle harmony to the whole affair. The sense of dread and awe as these characters and their stories unfold around you and change your perception of your place in the natural world is palpable.

    The next two tracks, “Azathoth” and “Astrophobos” definitely do more to kick up some cosmic dust by turning up the aggression and dissonance, but there’s enough variation in tempo to keep things interesting. The band approaches these tracks with an extremely cautious and measured hand so as to keep within the realms of Lovecraftian lore; after all, more speedy, technical, or dense songwriting for death/black metal can often conjure up more violent imagery than anything else which completely clashes with the point of the mythos: horror based on realization of terrifying cosmological concepts rather than bloodshed and destruction. “Astrophobos” rounds out with a particularly nice clean section, still keeping a brief utterance of harsh vocals while the instrumentation echoes out into the void. The lyrics for this track are actually Lovecraft’s himself, from a poem by the same name, and offer up a pleasant respite from the otherworldly daemons which proliferate the lyrics of the previous two tracks, instead venturing into the mind of a stargazer who receives visions of what might lie beyond our planet and is emotionally afflicted as a result.

    The title track strikes what is likely the best balance on the LP between genres and tones, beginning with a fusillade of pounding blast beats and leads colder than the vacuum of space (might be enough to make Wintherr perk up his ears). But the real harmonious aspect to me is when the first clean section’s melody continues on as the distorted leads arrive again; one can feel instantly transported to the cover art, watching a dark sky as planetary bodies move and shine, and feeling a sense of hopelessness wash over you, as these galactic events will continue with or without human intervention. There’s a real sense of refined beauty here, reinforced by the poetic lyrics: “That lost world floating dimly on time’s stream / I do not know if ever it existed / And shimmering at the back of some indistinct dream / And yet I see it often, violet-misted”. With that we float down the time-stream into the world of “Ανεμοι των Αστρων” (“Winds of the Stars”, according to Google Translate) which is one of my definite favorites on the release. I always liked on older black metal releases to hear how the artists compose quieter tracks, and this here is no exception because I could definitely go for a full album of just this ambiance alone. The synth work lends a gentle, guiding hand to lead you through the barely-comprehensible vastness of Prometheus’ sound, while still offering up a dark notion of just how miniscule our actions are compared to the might of the endless gravitational forces. The closing track “The Crimson Tower of the Headless God” sees the group off with their signature black/death metal blend reaching a grand crescendo while evoking imagery of environments which could tug at the fragility of any mortal man’s sanity, before wistfully ending on more clean guitar lines and some post-production adding some solar wind sound effects; a fantastic curtain call to close things out.

    Throughout Resonant Echoes From Cosmos of Old, Prometheus exhibit an extremely unadulterated sample of their vision as a group. Even though their previous album did not tackle any of the same subject matter, the band writes of eldritch abominations and celestial bodies as if it were an old hat for them, demonstrating their clear interest in the theme while acting as a model of unity between multiple metal subgenres. Give it a spin, and maybe you’ll find your mind has wandered halfway to R’lyeh before your body even knows it.

Resonant Echoes From Cosmos of Old is available on the I, Voidhanger Bandcamp. Listen here:

-Ryan

Artwork by Dimitrios Ch. Kosmas