Eight years since their debut, Deathcode Society’s return shows they’ve lost none of their potency or pomposity. From the opening maelstrom of Scolopendra onwards, Unlightenment displays a sophisticated amalgam of strings, screams and tumultuous black metal, while still exuding plenty of melodic hooks. While lacking the budget and bombast of the leaders of symphonic extremity, the Frenchmen still conjure a formidable wall of sound on the nefarious La Nuée and the labyrinthian epic of ÀLa Néante. While such a long wait deserves more than the seven tracks on offer, there’s plenty to unpick, with the album’s zenith coming in the closing moments of Narcosis’s dizzying rush and startling if somewhat ostentatious theatrics.
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