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Vrajitor's Tenebrarium — E.N.L.D.
(Bandcamp no#, 2023, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-03-20

E.N.L.D. Cover art

Not to be confused with Tenebrarium, an Argentinean band that released an album called Deathtrance back in 2014. The better question would be: Is Vrajitor's Tenebrarium, led by the Finnish composer and multi-instrumentalist Vrajitor, a real band or merely Vrajitor with a few of his friends helping out? Vrajitor is credited with the concept, all of the compositions and lyrics, plus guitars, bass, bouzouki, and synthesizers. Metronomicon (we’re too cool for real names it seems) plays drums, did the drum mix, and is apparently the recording engineer. Ville Jolanki played sax and clarinet, and E.N.R.I. played twelve-string guitar. There are male and female voices that are uncredited, but it’s no big deal as most of the album is instrumental. Vrajitor describes the music as progressive occult rock, inspired by his being a lifelong fan of (particularly Italian) horror and exploitation film music, and E.N.L.D is the first release from the band / project / whatever. Certainly one can listen to the eleven tracks at hand and hear the influence of Goblin, Jacula, Devil Doll and others — the sound is quite dark and somewhat horrific at times, imagine dark forests, black magic, exorcisms, witchcraft, and the like. What lyrics there are most certainly involve occult themes, but since they are mainly whispered or shouted and possibly in other languages, it’s hard to decipher. Things really get rocking on the second track “Rubedo,” a powerful instrumental statement that drives hard and sports some brilliant synth and guitar over its four-and-a-half minute playtime. On the dark creepier side, we have “La Maledizione della Fanciulla Alata,” arising out of a mysterious keyboard figure, while spoken female vocals with woodwinds backing offer an unusual spectre, leading directly into the next cut, “Venus in the Cloister,” an instrumental cut featuring bouzouki, haunting lead guitars, and some unusual synth sounds as percussion. Church bells, a creeky door, and footsteps lead the listener into “Pactum Ultra Sepulcrum,” where a grisly haunting voice is saying something — you don’t want to find out what — so the next cut, “Exorcismus,” jumps right in with a complex rock figure supported by some great drumming and keyboards, winding back to the devil’s voice again at the end. Indeed, E.N.L.D. is classic horror soundtrack through and through, sure to keep any listener on the edge of their seat.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Vrajitor's Tenebrarium

More info
http://vrajitorstenebrarium.bandcamp.com/album/e-n-l-d

 

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