Skaphe – Skáphe² CD

Born as a new project from A.P. (Alex Poole of Chaos Moon, Esoterica, and Krieg), SKA?PHE released an acclaimed, eponymous debut full-length of experimental black metal via Fallen Empire Records in 2014. Now turned into a duo thanks to the addition of amazing singer D.G. (from the Icelandic black metal rising stars Mis?yrming and Na?ra), SKA?PHE return with their sophomore album “Skáphe?” bringing with them an even more ominous and deadly sound. Supremely obscure, visionary and soaked in anguish, “Skáphe?” can be described as a scaring mind-altering experience, a psychonautic voyage through innermost regions. A.P.’s cyclopian and chaotic black metal riffs, and D.G.’s imposing vocals trace cavernous melodies that are left to rot into a freezing, infinite vacuum of non-existence, while the thunderous bass and drums alternate funereal tempos with convulsed, frantic rhythms. Macabre, enigmatic and more structured than what could appear at first, SKA?PHE’s music is like abstract darkness struggling to take shape. The oneiric and expanding sound abuses of echoes and low frequencies to resonate within the listener’s subconscious, vibrating with deepest fears, creating new ones. The mesmerizing black/red cover art drawn by H.V Lyngdal couldn’t be more explicit: the eviscerated devil devouring a human being is the portrait of our own monstrous, Lovecraftian soul, spreading its tentacles over our mental sanity.