Year: 2024
Label: Misantropia Records
As most who know me will attest to, a great way to get my attention and interest is with anything related to Western esoteric traditions. As you too may have surmised from, for example, the book reviews featured on the site. Yeah, I know, what a cliché: middle aged black metal listener is interested in esotericism! Never heard that one before!
Anyhow, by the above, it is no surprise that already the name Chymist piqued my interest. In itself it is an archaic spelling of the more familiar word chemist. However, in modern contexts, both chymist and chymistry is often used to describe that middle ground between alchemy and chemistry, where the esoteric nature of the former blends into the more scientific methods of the latter.
Combine this with the deeply esoteric imagery of the band’s debut mini-album, and you’ve got me. Hook, line and sinker. The cover image of a lion devouring the sun is a classic hermetic/alchemical motif, typically replete with symbolism. It can be seen as the triumph of will over matter, of the breaking down of lesser material in the alchemical procedure of dissolution and coagulation, and, through the latter, as a symbol of the cyclic nature of the macrocosm: creation through destruction.
It’s not just the cover artwork, either. The stylish digipak is littered with imagery and symbolism that goes way deeper than yer stereotypical, clichéd inverted pentagrams & crosses and Baphomets. And pleasantly enough, based on the lyrics, it’s not mere imagery for imagery’s sake. Chymists’ lyrics delve into the same subject matter with turns of phrase that indicate a more than superficial understanding.
But I’m going about this a bit backwards. Lyrics and conceptual themes are interesting, but when it comes to music, it’s the music that should be the center of focus, right? And it’s not like there’s nothing to write about in Chymist’s music.
To put it simply, Chymist is Finnish black metal. I see global throngs who adore the “Finnish sound” harken – and not without reason! Because, essentially, Chymist’s take on black metal will certainly appeal to people who’ve got a soft spot for the classic Finnish sound as established and espoused by Satanic Warmaster and the likes.
This means dark, melancholic and somber guitar melodies but also classic buzzsawing riffing; rawness balanced by melody and atmosphere; predominantly not-too-speedy tempos; a light-and-shadow balance between calm, atmospheric passages and blasts of rather classic black metal fury. The vocals are a fierce and raw howl.
The production is clean and airy, which makes Opus I: Nox surprisingly light. The guitars have not been overloaded with distortion and caked dirt; instead, the melodic leads are surprisingly clean, and even the sawing sections have a somewhat softer distortion to them.
This works for the benefit of the music. The softer sound helps build atmosphere better than more abrasive rawness would have. And Chymist’s take on black metal is above all atmospheric despite not being “atmospheric black metal” as it is conventionally understood e.g., vague, almost “ambient” so-called atmosphere instead of real riffs and structure. In this way, Opus I: Nox reminds me of some of the “dark metal” acts of the turn of the millennium, who eschewed rawness for loftier atmospheres.
Ultimately, Opus I: Nox sounds like a very deliberated package, where most all facets have been meticulously crafted. Well, with the odd inclusion of a lengthy silence after the final track Catastrophe – Drowning In Mercury. Here I was expecting a hidden track at the end, but all I got was silence. A mistake in manufacture, apparently, but also descriptive of how one’s expectations and reality are at odds ever so frequently.
Opus I: Nox is Chymist’s debut release, which, over the course of four proper tracks and intro/outroesque tracks, manages to thoroughly impress. I have no idea who lurk behind the veil of anonymity chosen by the band, but my guess is this: these are no newcomers or greenhorns. This release is far too mature in both sound and expression for that.
Whilst not overly original in its constituent parts, Chymist’s black metal manages to rise above the dime a dozen mass of pastiche “finncore” (as in norsecore). With a strong opener like this, here is a group worth keeping tabs on.
Only Death Is Real 
One thought on “CHYMIST: Opus I: Nox”