Vimur - Transcendental Violence

Labels: Boris Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 02 Apr 2022

Tracklist:

1. Aeonic Upheaval

2. Transcendental Violence

3. Infallible Contra Animus

4. Emanations From The Sun Behind The Sun

5. The Greatest Dying

6. Death Absolution

7. The Warrior Seers

I spotted a pattern when I came to write this review. All three of Vimur's fill-length albums to date have started with the letter T. Anecdotal as that might seem, I thought it was worth mentioning as I wasn't sure how to open this review. Atlanta, Georgia's (USA) Vimur began playing USBM back in 2006. but it wasn't until 2014 before their first demo was released (though a demo CD from 2010 pre-dates that). Since then there have been two full-length album, a live album and an EP leading up to this, their third album. It was Boris Records that first brought Vimur to my attention and it was they who helped bring Transcendental Violence to the ears of plenty of extreme metal fans last year.

I feel this burst of extremity is very much needed, given the purgatory that has been my day job over the last couple of days. Album opener ‘Aeonic Upheaval’ is full of blasting percussion, ground-shaking bass work, icy yet atmosphere-building riffs and vocals that cut through the instrumentation like cold sharp steel. I don’t recall Vimur’s sound being this black metal heavy on previous releases, but it is an enjoyable sound that they create here. That enjoyable factor comes in the form of the groove that’s prominent in their song-writing, I’m not talking stoner/doom groove but there is something mesmeric about the closing bars of ‘Aeonic Upheaval’.

From something pretty lengthy to something altogether more brutal sounding. The album’s title-track ‘Transcendental Violence’ drip feeds death metal into Vimur’s sound, albeit subtly as they still take no prisoners when it comes to their black metal. The other thing worth noting here is the sheer volume of the recording on this thing. It’s pretty damn loud even at half volume!

The tempo on ‘Infallible Contra Animus’ is deceiving, especially following that title-track. It’s the riffs that seem to slow it down in places even though most of the time it almost reaches grinding intensity. That intensity gives off a false sense of time because the song isn’t even halfway through at this point. It’s latter half does nothing to dispel the sense of pace and it leaves you wondering how Vimur can sustain such velocity for so long.

That same velocity is carried through to ‘Emanations From The Sun Behind The Sun’, which pretty much follows in exactly the same vein. Hearing the guitar melodies ringing out amongst the percussive blasts is a dream-like experience if you find solace in heaviness. After escaping the bludgeoning of ‘Emanations...’, the metallic lead guitar of ‘The Greatest Dying’ brings you back to life with quite the shock. It’s only a brief shock though as Vimur once again stride forth with more unrelenting black metal. It’s final third leaves some room for breath but it feels only fleeting.

Doom, death and black metal form a holy trinity on penultimate song ‘Death Absolution’. It’s the atmospheric piece that Transcendental Violence has been promising and it shows another side to Vimur’s song-writing ability As somebody who has been drawn further down the post-metal rabbit hole of late, I have to say that I find this side of Vimur more appealing (but ask me in a couple of weeks and I’ll probably say that their rabid black metal is hitting the spot). That says more about my constantly shifting attention span than it does about their music,. 

Album closer ‘The Warrior Seers’ eschews that post-metal calmness and retreats back into the cold shadows, enveloping you one final time in Vimur’s black metal majesty. You could describe it as cinematic, as Vimur reaches a climactic peak with such ease and poise. This album is the perfect length in my humble opinion. It captures the attention and the imagination without being too long. A great listen but don’t just take my word for it.

You can stream and purchase Transcendental Violence on all formats from Vimur below:-

Vimur - https://www.facebook.com/vimurofficial

Copies are also available from Boris Records below:-

https://borisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/transcendental-violence

Boris Records - https://www.facebook.com/borisrecordsatl