There are music albums that are not just a pleasure to delve into, but also manage to make you feel the music with every pore, empathize with the individual riff , to get goosebumps with every spoken word.
Hailing free from any restraints from Marseille (but with roots coming from Europe’s oldest country – Bulgaria), Corpus Diavolis recreate a true and intoxicating ceremonial darkness with their new work ‘Elixiria Ekstasis’, as their soundscapes managing to penetrate in the depths of consciousness and leave a lasting impression long after the last piece has ended. And it’s safe to say – it’s not an easy task to get enough of something so primal, but at the same time provocative and excellently produced in the world of black metal.

A captivating majestic atmosphere embraces the listener in the first track „His Wine Be Death“, followed by the meditative chanting of the inspiring incantation  „Media autem nocte, clamor factus est : Ecce Satan venit, exite obviam ei“.  Shortly after, we are immediately flooded with fast tremolo, soon replaced by more twisted riffs and
fire-breathing vocals carrying a demonic charge. In its continuation, the song maneuvers between different tempos and moods, you will hear different vocal and guitar techniques, ending up speechless before the darkness of a sacred altar.

„Sanguis Satanas Pro Nobis Spirituum
Satanae Sanguis In Corporibus Nostris“

From the more orthodox sounding ‘His Wine Be Death’, the album moves to ‘Key To Luciferian Joy’ – a song
with a more driven tempo where the vocals  in some specific parts manage to remind me of the cult and favorite Mayhem performances with Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead) and again the band doesn’t settle for just one vocal take as  later on ritualistic chants join in next to the raw shrieks. A special highlight for me here are the keyboards, which add depth to the rhythm and an additional sense of weightlessness to the message of the song.

The remaining seven tracks on the album similarly maneuver between a different rhythm and vocal approach. Also,  with ‘Enfleshed In Silence’, the album’s penultimate track, you’ll be able to enjoy a short but deep instrumental prelude to the  finale – the ritualistic ‘Chalice of Fornication“, which leads to a climax with beautiful oriental motifs, cold tremolo, passages of atmospheric ethereal guitars and emotionally charged appeals carrying a psychedelic feel.

Corpus Diavolis initially write their lyrics in an intriguing way, but this time with „Elixiria Ekstasis“ it seems
to me that their  intimacy  is even more immersive and challenging. In the album you will encounter verses honoring the libeberated woman in Mystical Union with Chaos , poems about the deep and ritualistic passion, longing and for the power attained in the potent union of the masculine and feminine essence, for the sacred ritual in honor of enlightenment and the search for wisdom.
Without a doubt, this is one of those albums that will provoke your imagination in a number of ways – intellectually, spiritually, purely sensibly. As you can see from the cover, you will experience something beyond the conventional, delivered in an authentic and captivating way – an intimate experience in the form of a black metal ritual, unfolding in almost an hour of duration.

„The ultimate step towards the abyss
Oh, most bright angel of luxury
You who have taken my hand
Leadeth me to your immaculate silky nest
You have opened my eyes without a word
Revealing all secrets at once
In the nakedness of your innocent perfection
Through thee I am reborn in nothingness“