Published: November 5, 2019

Before the project MAESKRYYN was created, Alexandre Lamothe AKA "Harslingoth, the Overseer" and Philippe Hurtubise AKA "Saemyaza, The Last Eye" were in a band now dissolved called EXORCISE THE SKY. Relentlessly hungry for music, in September 2017, Harslingoth and Saemyaza quickly started making music and experimenting with what was for them, the expression of their souls. This created in a relatively short time the first two songs, "Tainted Shores" and "My Path, No Longer Linked," Mixing the two mains themes of the project, the despair of this dying world and the ignorance of man. Although it is not clear if the band fits more into Depressive Black Metal or Atmospheric Black Metal, the main idea stays in a dark-themed meditation about this world. “Interlude” contains nine tracks.

“Introduction: The Artificial Light” opens the album, with atmosphere building in the background and whispered vocals. Then the main riff drops…and it is indeed a depressing sound. “Gathering Believers among Sheep” starts off with a faster riff, some double kick drumming, and a big scream. The vocals are high and sharp. It changes key right before the half-way mark, and the vocals go deep, while a despondent sound builds. “Interlude I” is a subdued track with charming atmosphere and sounds you might hear emitting from a distant star.

“These Battlefields, Where None Walk Twice” features a majestic sound in the main riff, and some vocal variation. It also has a more traditional sound, with a discernable riff and even a short guitar solo. “Interlude II” is very short, with more of that atmospheric sound. “The Slow Death of the Years and Other Omens” is close to ten minutes in length. Opening with a full-on Black Metal sound, some light symphonic elements augment the music here. While the drums gallop away, an odd guitar solo rears its head before the chaos returns. It slows down after the ¾ mark and this is where the atmospheric elements come into play, just for a spell. “Interlude III” is the shortest of them all…barely making a sound. “Of Forests and Troubled Pasts” is another long song, opening with some solidary lead guitar. It moves at first with a slow pace and some despondence in the vocals and instruments. A pretty ambient passage appears just before the ending chaos.

“The End” is another short instrumental. It has a feeling of both depression and hope, as any good ending should. Overall, this was a good, but perplexing album. The three interludes barely registered much sound at all so I question their place on the album, other than to provide breaks between the intense Black Metal blueprint. However, I found the album to be just as described…a dark wedge of Black Metal with atmospheric moments, and the band offered enough diversity to keep me interested.