The Return of the Retrodox
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No other act could deliver a procession of songs so distinctive of what the metal genre was tampering with during the early 90ies. No other act could more convincingly take us through the historical vastness of Europe’s Bronze Age, evoking thundering civilisational clashes or deeply introspective mindscapes.
This very first 8 track concept album features a deluge of bombastic, multilayered metal anchored in the truest tradition, yet daringly conspicuous in its infusion with neighbouring genres.
In depth rundown of the album’s songs
SIDE DUSK
1.Heir to the Dedicant
The opening theme to “Heir to the Dedicant” gets to us by uncloaking a lush soundscape of acoustic guitars rooted in the atmospheric black metal heritage. The ranting earworm that follows in the chorus abruptly overturns the opening riff by dragging us in the catastrophic maelstrom of a father's vicarious poisonousness. The verse that follows is of even higher doominess and bursts into sustained lamenting harmonies and vocals. The song is then catastrophically dragged to abyssal depths by a torrent of double bass and dronish tremolo guitars in a grand finale.
2.The Bronze Horns of Yore
Thematically anchored at the very heart of this concept album's aesthetics lies “The Bronze Horns of Yore”, an ode to the magnificence of long lost civilisations but also a warning for the fragility of our own present. The polyphonic choirs and tribal pounding of drum and bass will inevitably remind fans of Bathory of albums like Hammerheart or the Nordland diptych.
3.Deathbed Convert
The cushy morbid organ that carries the intro to “Deathbed Convert” sets the tone to a track that takes us through the twists and turns of the human psyche when confronted with imminent death. Staged in a soundscape recalling early Black Sabbath and Pentagram,the storyline and arcane choirs obviously anchor this song in Europe’s earliest funerary rites, mirroring the still extant hope of bargain for afterlife.
4.Urnland
Kicking off with introspective spoken words suspended in a seemingly endless marching pace, “Urnland” quickly shifts towards a surprisingly uplifting traditional NWOBHM riff embarking the listener on a spiritual quest fraught with the strangest customs and darkest encounters, reviving the conceptual universe and occult storytelling of Venom’s foundational albums.
SIDE DAWN
5.The Retrodox
The album's title track “The Retrodox” is Baduwenna’s very first composition and is perhaps its most dramatic and pessimistic. Dealing with the perpetual fluctuations in humanity's need for a greater beyond, this contrast is dynamically reflected in the very slow and open choruses that punctuate the faster double bass verses, thus conveying the fatigue of oppression as opposed to the swiftness of relief. The track balances on the edge between doomish heaviness and thrash or death metal velocity, reminiscent of some of the foundational oeuvre of the earliest Carnivore or Celtic Frost.
6.My Silent Sentinel
Undoubtedly the most experimental track of this album, “My Silent Sentinel” is breaking with tradition by combining cyclical patterns of layered guitar and basslines with a steady pounding of the drumkit, giving the song a very post-punkish twist, yet keeping the vocal intensity grounded in the metal genre. The song is strongly metaphorical for the opposition between our inner sanctum and the urge for humans to influence and overpower their fellows.
7.The Wind of the Vates
In stark contrast stands this purely ambient interlude, featuring a blend of atmospheric elements and synths that are anchored in the purest 90ies electronic tradition. Initially veiled in a cold and menacingly minimalistic soundscape, the song manages to morph into a profoundly immersive theme with warm synthpulses supporting polyphonic leads evocative of the medieval fantasy universe of Summoning or Burzum. The track eventually dives to abyssal depths, as to convey the fragility of comfort and familiarity before a swift return to the opening premise.
8.Trilithon
The masterpiece of occultism in this opus is unquestionably “Trilithon”. The close harmonies of weeping lead guitars combined with a harsh vocal performance echoing Bulldozer’s A.C. Wild, contribute to the overall ceremonious atmosphere that transcends this song. Past the three initial choruses, starts an ethereal almost psychotropic parenthesis in which guitars and bass play a mesmerising cavalcade before returning to the initial theme, reminding us of the obscurantism that has helped societies overcome their fears since prehistoric times.