Melek Tha - The Luciferian Manifest
We are in the year of 2025, and Melek Tha is still quite active... since 1996 if you must know. With over 80 releases so far (according to Discogs), Melek Tha has proven to be a relentless beast to deal with. Orchestral sacred industrial with a bombastic touch, often exploring themes with an occult nature. Lucifer gets the treat now, on one of the latest releases. It has been released on a Russian label called Black Mara, and also on the French label Abhorrent Creation Tapes. It´s a full-on double CD treat. Lots of satanic themes are spread onto 2 full-length compact discs. Much in the same way as the former Lovecraftian Melek Tha release called the Call Of Cthulhu (offcourse). The great-looking artwork has been made by Mexican artist Nestor Alvados.
We begin with the first disc, featuring the first track, titled "Ave Lucifer Rex Qliphoth." Chaunting male vocals, and another ritualistic voice speaking in Latin. Subtle angelic choirs, distant powerful martial drums, strings, trumpets... the lot. And on top of that cake, deeå Laibach ´ish spoken words. There is also a nice eerie female vocal in there, delivering an interesting touch to it. Kind of like a thing between the Omen and Polanski´s The Ninth Gate so far, with a touch of that classic In Slaughter Natives sound.
The next track, Militibus Ex Inferno, gets mixed into the first one. I kind of like that! The spoken Latin words continue, with a subtle rising tension in the music. A bit more eerie, challenging, and intense. Sounds like an offering that will end in the summoning of some demonic entity. Different movie themes will pop up in the listener's mind, offcourse. From Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Dagon, Legend, etc, etc. Good sound, and a convincing mood as well.
The third track, The Luciferean Manifest, further evolves on the filmatic mood of occult/satanic-inspired movies. A recognizable kind of dread, also located in Arthur Machen´s The Great God Pan. Throbbing shamanic beats, ominous trumpets... the lot. In fact, there was so much meat on this bone that I had to listen to it... just one more time. Lots of depth to it!
We jump straight into disc 2 with the first track, Voco Te Tex Lucifer. A large worshipping crowd has joined the assembly, while the ritual continues. Kind of sounds like a large crowd thumping on the ground while chanting, in a kind of aggressive manner. The atmosphere swirls to incredible heights in a huge underground cathedral. I'm also thinking about Gustav Holst´s planets here, really big sound.
Track 3 Horum Malorum Multitudo... begins with some low piano work, mournful sacred choirs with some creepy-crawling and shimmering sound effects in the background. Not as thick on the mood as the former tracks I reviewed, but a lovely and subtle kind of darkness. Love the way all the recorded stuff has been mixed together, has a kind of Controlled Bleeding sound here.
The Luciferean Manifest is one gigantic (and nearly endless) manifest of a smörgasbord/buffet. Offcourse (as a listener) we can get tired of the same satanic themes being churned through the same thick atmosphere... but! ... it has been made REALLY GOOD!. Surprises me how high the quality is, and it also surprises me how much this act has evolved sound-wise since their first album, Astram Argentinum from 1996! It´s an entire album that can be hard to chew through on one sitting, but every minute counts on this one. Well worth your time!
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