This 6 song album has long songs, like their past release and the album clocks in at 46 minutes.  “A Heart to Judge” is the longest track, at 8.43 and the song gets into a mid-paced moment with scathing vocals before going into a dark and cold blasting section which takes no prisoners.  The guitar tone is frighteningly evil.  The 3.20 slower moment has some beautiful guitar melodies over the monstrous double bass.  Killer blast section afterwards and some real nice drum work at the 6.40 mark.

The title track begins slow and super heavy.  Almost at a monolith doomy, dirgy pace with vicious vocals and more killer drums.  There are some slow down moments and the guitar melodies just embed in your brain, right before the blast comes in and destroys your soul and the pounding ending is brilliant.  It’s heavy and hate-filled with so much evil dripping from all sides of this sucker.  “Silver Dagger and the Breathless Smile” ends the album and at over 8 minutes is a perfect ending, especially with the epic intro with the cymbals, guitar riff and then the vocals coming forth. Then the fastest blasts the band has ever done erupts for a brief few seconds and goes into a pounding mid-paced part with so much coldness to the guitar tone.  The isolated guitar moment is the Holy Shit moment.  It goes into a killer early 90’s beat with berating vocals over this section and then into that super-fast blast moment again.  It’s delightfully evil and sinister.  More unholiness awaits as the slower passage comes in and is so depressing and emotive it actually brought a huge grin to me.  The vocals are pained and anguished and vicious.  The brutal blast comes in again and the song trails off in a mid-paced rollicking sort of way, then picks up some speed, going faster and faster and then it’s Over.

Aosoth have unleashed a demonic and monstrous album, yet again.  It screams creativity and originality and V: The Inside Scriptures is one of the elite albums of 2017.  It also has one of the best album covers and each song is excellent.  Aosoth have once again reminded the world why they are the kings of Black Metal.  Again some death metal drippings here and there, but not as much.  There are sections that have passages similar to Finland’s Desolate Shrine.  It’s mainly in the dark, evil and cold guitar and blasting moments.  Really spectacular music.  Aosoth should be damn proud of this monstrous spawn.  Buy or Die!

Congratulations on your newest album, IV: An Arrow in Heart, it is crushing! How has is been received by the fans, press and when playing the songs in a live setting?

MkM: Hails Frank, thanks for the feedback on our latest recording; that album might have been the one with the most exposure, at least review wise. About live performances, we only got a few selected gigs since the release – including the Maryland Death fest, there will not be any tour for that album, nor any tour at all in the future it seems. But to get back to your question : it seems the newer tracks and the way we « expose » them to the audience had the right impact. Both our gig in Paris & the one at MDF must have been the most satisfying on a personal level.

It seems that you went towards more epic songwriting with the songs gradually getting longer with each album you have put out. Why is this the case and do you feel it makes the band better?

BST: When we wrote the third album, these tracks were meant to be as painful as possible; the whole experience had to be a nightmare. It felt right to do things this way and it became a part of the band’s identity in the end. Don’t know if it makes anything better, but it works for us, and for what we’re standing for. In the future we could go back to writing some shorter songs, nothing has been decided, we’ll just see what happens then.

I felt that your last album, III – Violence & Variations the band, began to incorporate a tiny bit of death metal into the sound and while still mostly classified as a Black Metal band, I felt this was furthered a little more on the new record. As stated in my review, the title track, at around the 6 minute mark, the atmospheric/ambience and the light drumming, kinda has a shade of Ulcerate, who are from New Zealand. Than the song bursts into a raging blast. What are your comments on my observation?

BST: The Death Metal influence has been a part of Aosoth since I was hired as a guitar player, I think. It may have become more obvious because of the very low tuning we’ve been using since “III”. As far as the comparison with Ulcerate, well I love this band, but I’m not sure we share that much. One can probably tell that both projects have been heavily influenced by Deathspell Omega, though, like many other bands, of course.

MkM : Weird you would mention this, I have a slightly different vision of it all, since none of my bands ever sounded « black metal » to most, it had been an insult back in the days to even have « too much » death metal structures or tuning in our sounds (Antaeus or Aosoth for instance)

“Ritual Marks of Penitence” is a 14 minute song, will you ever play this song live? Also with such a long song, how difficult is it to remember all the parts, especially in a live setting?

BST: We’ve adapted it to a live setting by making a shorter version of it, which is approximately 8 minutes long. Remembering long structures is not really a problem, we rehearse enough…

MkM : The only issue I could think of when performing such tracks on live “Ritual…” is related to the amount of time we would be allowed to have, most of the time, we do get 30 to 40 minutes, so it ends up in us having to choose properly which tracks to recreate live and those who will never be brought to the stage. Out of the last album, we did pick up three and those are already covering in length 80 per cent of our set – that doesn’t allow much for the previous albums.

How have you developed as a singer over time? I do notice a little bit more death metal influence in your vocals on the new album. When singing do you strictly sing from your throat or do you use your diaphragm in the process, since singing this type of music can take a toll on your vocal chords over time?

MkM: First, I would like to point out that I always ask to have my vocals drowned in the mix and not upfront – I do consider my part as an instrument more or less & the lyrical aspect would just be more of a personal matter and for my own experience (thus no lyrics enclosed in that last album – apart from the braille insert, which provided a different approach to the concept of Aosoth – and we do know some individuals who managed to get a transcription of it all – hails to them for such work) About my screams, it is both a combo from throat & stomach, overtime indeed, they did change: also a good thing we are not a touring band having to be on the road for months per year. Those vocals would loose its impact at some point – right now it is fine by me, yet I could never redo vocals I used to be doing 20 years ago for instance. I do not consider myself as good or professional in my field of course, the most important to me would be to fully express what is inside and make it all out, as a performance, a bit too revealing of some inner conflicts.

 Since there are no lyrics in your records what are some of the things you sing about and what are your influences? What inspires you to create the music that you play? How does the new album cover artwork tie into the album theme?

MkM: Any lyrics I did, be it with Aosoth or any bands I worked with, have been influenced by my approach of life/death and Satanism. IV is the logical step, lyric wise, after the previous album, so those who did get to experience the reading, would get an idea of what it stands for. Artwork wise: we’ve asked each artist we worked with, to provide us their interpretation of Aosoth, after a description we would provide – so far we’ve had VERY different results and I am very satisfied with all those who took part of that graphic experience (will enclose a few example for individuals to see what has been done)

Your self titled album was only released in 2008, yet it’s out of print on cd and I would like to know, since I do not own it and would love to, are there any plans on re-releasing it onto cd any time soon?

MkM: This is new to me! I really thought that the label which released it still had some copies in stock, THR from Sweden should be contacted on this matter, I honestly have no idea on how it is handled – the wax version was done for the first press through the Ajna Offensive in the USA and has been recently repressed by Osmose production, with a cover from Kristiina Lehto (finland) also depicting Aosoth upon our description, the new lp also allows a better read when it comes to the insert, which got fucked by the pressing plant on the very first press.

Describe to us what goes into crafting a song, working out the tempos, the lyrics and phrasing.

BST: As far as the music goes, it’s always an individual work and it’s always very spontaneous. No songs are structured in advance.  I just write and record as I go, kind of like automatic writing, but with a guitar and a recording device. Then finishing touches are added with the bass player during the actual album recording.

Are you and the rest of the band friends and how do you all get along with one another? How difficult is it being in the band and having a life outside the band? How do you want to further the future sound of Aosoth?

MkM: I barely see the others at all and have never been in « contact » with any band members of any band I would have been affiliated with, We only see each other at some rehearsal and during the driving hours to get to the gigs, then I get on my own or with different people – the rest of the band has a different approach, they are more like a pack, spending time together. About the sound & future of the band : BST is the only composer and sole responsible of our evolution on that field, I only get involved in the lyrical & graphical aspect – or at least, I used to – now I will let them work that since I won’t have the time nor energy it requires any longer

Since you are placed in the Black Metal category, do you actively worship Satan and follow the laws of the Satanic Bible or is it a genre that you just play music in, not necessarily associating your belief system with Satanism?

MkM: COS is one thing & I would not limit Satanism to this – also not a matter one should discuss in the open either. And indeed: black metal = Satan.

Do your family members support what you do, even though you play a darker form of music?

BST: Mine don’t care.

MkM : I do not have contact with them since years – also getting 38, do think it’s normal not to have any contact with family and cut all ?!

Coming from France, did you grow up in a traditional French family and since the country is pretty religious did you grow up in a catholic family and is the music a rebellion towards your upbringing?

BST: Catholic church in France is not as strong as it used to be, I was raised in a semi-atheist environment, so my upbringing was never an obstacle to anything. I learnt about spirituality on my own, and for the purpose of ascension, not rebellion.

MkM: Quite a catholic background but no rebellion thing through music, I guess alcohol and drugs abuse would be more to blame then, also flesh damaging.
Do you like other forms of metal, other than Black Metal and do you go to local shows to support the scene?

MkM : From the early 90’s up to now, I used to run a fanzine, a demo tape distribution, a label (spikekult, which released vinyls and demos, including : gbk, urgrund, watain, judas iscariot, krieg…) also got involved in gig promoters and helped organizing quite a few- Also used to attend nearly all underground gigs : even up to Belgium when they wouldn’t be in the Paris area (where we live), Nowadays things are different, was without any income and in a very complicated situation for the past three years – so not able to go to Paris nor do anything related to gigs or anything. We’ve done our part I guess, and that scene is quite dying: I barely did see any new blood at recent gigs we would have performed.

How does BST manage playing all the instruments-are you self taught, how did you go about learning/wanting to play them all?

BST: I pretty much have dedicated my whole life to music or arts in general. I tend to be a little hyper active, and need to express many different ideas, and also experienced the lack of reliability of many people claiming to be musicians, in France, AND abroad. The less people you involve in a project, the less personal issues you have to manage and go around; the less disapointments you encounter in the end…

Any final thoughts/comments for our readers?

MkM: Fuckin thanks for the interview Frank and the support given to our latest album!
AMSG

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The term ‘regally filthy’ is all I could come up with as Arrow in Heart, while full of discordant, dissonant filth, albeit a bit cleaner than III, it has this aloof, elite stance and presence that looks down on the listener with brash austerity. It knows its brilliant, it knows it will be one of the years most lauded, iconic albums, and sneers with insidious disdain at all pretenders. It’s so well crafted and dripping with atonal majesty that you can’t help cower in its presence.

With a dense but malefic guitar tone (and killer, menacing rhythm section), Arrow in Heart gets right to it with a 10 minute opening title track which slithers and writhes with serpentine causticity out of the gate, no warning shots or intro. But it isn’t a pure unrelenting beat down, the pacing is so well delivered that the mid song pulsing segue is a natural, fluid transition, yet haunting in its effectiveness before it explodes again with regal, blackened fury. It’s nigh perfect.

“One with the Prince with a Thousand Enemies” opens with a restrained march, and overall has a much more malevolent, sickly sheen that’s foreboding yet shimmers and throbs before yet another perfect black metal salvo of atonal majesty. “Temple of Knowledge” is a more immediate, direct and pure example of black metal, but has a layered, harrowing background undercurrent and ebb that lurk in the background of the song’s traditional front end. It’s very clever, very subtle but also very wicked, much like the cover as the angel of death whispers into the ear of the dying angel before an abrupt end. “Under Nails & Fingertips” lulls you into a false sense of security with a plodding opening few bars, then just opens up with sudden abandon and closing out with shrill, unnerving purpose.

There is a little more experimentalism with the duo of “Broken Dialog I” and “II”, mixing moody acoustics and mechanical instrumental marches with servile spoken words and disturbing, esoteric samples (especially part II), but they serve as a slight breather before the 14 minute closer “Ritual Marks of Penitence” flagellates the listener into a pulpy submission with cryptic, ritualistic throes, peaking with blistering, nerve wracking urgency. Even at 60 minutes, Arrow in Heart never drags on or feels over long. The tempo shifts and dread filled atmospherics aren’t forced or piecemeal, and the album just comes together as a complete work of art with nothing out of place or gratuitous. Every note and moment serves as a piece of greater, deliberate profane plan (i.e. there’s a riff in the closer at about the 5:11 mark that’s so understated but so brilliant, it almost registers on a purely subconscious level).

While Chris Grigg’s Woe and bands like Pact have elevated US black metal scene into the same elite, nasty realms, with Aosoth, the French have raised the bar again as they did a decade ago with the likes of Blut Aus Nord and Deathspell Omega and made French black metal the new standard once again.

With only six songs, all numbered in roman numerals, III already gives of a ritualistic, cryptic vibe, before you even hit play. But as the almost eight minutes that comprise “I” lurch, ooze, and careen out of the speakers with a manner of skin crawling riffs, itchy atmospherics and nerve-wracking ambience, the vibe is fervently cemented.

The filthy, distant, scratchy production and feral, twisted tremolo blasts (i.e. start of “II” devastating opening salvo of “VI”) are responsible for much of the album’s filthy ambience, but when coupled with MkM’s tortured rasps and the injections of slower, creepy, unsettling passages (end of “I”, start of “III”, end of “V”), the album descends into a whole other realm of psychosis, paranoia and dread.

The album’s highlight is the last almost 20 minutes that comprise parts “V” and “VI”. These two, 9+ minute monstrosities deliver a sanity sapping descent into lengthy, varied sonic bedlam with the albums most memorable crippling riffs, structures and transitions to sickly, occult passages. Of note the last few moments of the devastating “VI”, where a distant choral effigy chants the albums death throes in rather effective, haunting fashion. It’s a subtle dichotomy from the tracks prior vortex in intensity but allows the listener to regain their sanity and gather their thoughts from the previous 45 minutes of sonic molestation.

Yup! Just go ahead and add Aoseth to the growing list of the French Black Metal elite — with III, they’ve rendered arguably one of 2011’s best black metal releases thus far.

Obvious comparisons and stylistic similarities to Antaeus are immediately apparent and viable as Aosoth certainly ply a slick, vehement form of slightly death metal based black metal that treads the balance between violent, slicing black metal and some mid paced menace. It’s also the same way Zyklon are black metal ― slightly more polished, modern and clean ― as the tone is slightly less septic and Satanic with more esoteric, occult themes as opposed to the direct, Flesh Cutting,  Satan worshiping savagery of Antaeus. Its not Deathspell Omega twisted, but at times the delivery has that cryptic, controlled psychosis as heard on the title track, “Path of Twisted Light” and “Teaching/Erasing” .

Still, when you hear the likes of opener “Songs Without Lungs”, “Embrace and Enlightment”, “Summon the Dead”, “Communion Through the Ruin” and the utterly seething standout “Banished” (not to mention a cover of the Antaeus song “Inner War” which blends in seamlessly with the rest of the album) its hard not to think of Antaeus. But that’s not really a bad thing and Aosoth drip with the same intensity and fury at times.

In a year where some relatively laid back metal has grabbed my interest (Alcest, Nechochwen, Orphaned Land, Negura Bunget etc) its nice to feel my blood pump, my teeth grind, minutes and have some genuine hate boiling in my soul for a few minutes.