Band: Caedeous
Album title: Malum Supplicium
Release date: 21 April 2023
Label: MDD Records
Genre: Extreme Symphonic Metal, Black/Death Metal
Tracklist:
01. Scalas Ad Inferos
02. Cruxis Inferni
03. In Flamma Peribimus
04. Maledictio Animae
05. Pandemonium
06. Obscura Ascensionis
07. Pergame Altare
08. Abominatio Alchimiae
09. Malum Supplicium
Portuguese band Caedeous is a perfect example that sometimes just talent is simply not enough. The band, which is a creation of prolific multi-instrumentalist and composer Paulo J. Mendes, got my admiration and respect with its debut album, Domini Tenebrarum, released in 2018. Paulo also released the mesmerizing solo symphonic/gothic metal musical opus named Elementia and once again showed to the world his exceptional songwriting skills. Not only Caedeous and his solo effort - worth checking out is also the new gothic metal formation Zodiacus and some other projects where he was and/or still is involved. In the first place, I see Paulo J. Mendes as an incredible composer of symphonic, orchestral and gothic metal.
I guess that Paulo wanted to take with Caedeous a new path, a more extreme one, and so he gathered a new line-up; vocalist Thomas Blanc, drummer Federico Leone, mezzo sopranist Rosmerta, guitarist Douglas Melchiades, and bassist Rich Grey (Annihilator, Aeon Zen, Cypher16,...) as a session studio member. Quite worthy of respect musicians contributed to Caedeous' third full-length Malum Supplicium, but it simply doesn't work out as it should. Some things went out of control and into disconnected extremes. I was surprised by that already on the previous album, Obscurus Perpetua, released in March 2022, but I thought it was an exception. Nope; Malum Supplicium takes a similar path, maybe a little bit more structured, but in the end sounds like a chaotic collision of many styles.
Let me explain. Caedeous' songs on Malum Supplicium are very intricate, technically impeccable and opulent. All good, but music, especially the one with symphonic elements, should be captivating; it should lead somewhere and needs at least some pathos - yet nothing of these. Imagine taking orchestral elements, reminiscent of the ones of Dimmu Borgir or Cradle Of Filth as a basis, then adding some raw black metal, death metal in the old-school Suffocation vein, a pinch of sympho-goth and even grindcore. Put all this into a blender and serve it as an avant-garde style of Blut Aus Nord, Imperial Triumphant or Sigh. It could work fine with a better final mix, but what we got is hard to digest 35 minutes of extreme-dark chaos.
Blasting drums, berserk orchestrations, powerful yet varied brutal vocals and hellish shrieks with occasional female choirs and soprano, progressive guitars and some leads might be a good fit if the tracks at least had head and tail. I miss some evocative or building-up tension structures. While the haunting intro to the album is the only really good thing here, the rest sometimes feels almost like listening to three different tracks simultaneously, especially when operatic female vocals come into the picture. The merciless black metal blast beats are often out of place, and grindcore-kind-of vocals don't do any good - rather opposite. "Obscura Ascensionis" sounds quite promising in the beginning, but it gets ruined by unbalanced opposites. I can't even expose a track or two because everything sounds almost the same.
Maybe those who like more chaotic extremity and avant-garde black metal will find something for themselves; otherwise, I recommend this album to those who are into the technically improved metal where captivating song structures are of no importance. As for myself, I guess that I'll leave Caedeous' aimless rampage out of my radar of interest, but will, for sure, follow Paulo J. Mendes' other musical endeavours since I think that he's capable of doing great things, like he already did, and still does under other monickers.
Thankfully enough, there's also an orchestral version of the album. This one contains the complete work in an orchestral version. It somehow makes things a little bit more worth listening to and shows the band in a different light.
The review was written by Tomaz
Rating: 5/10