Almost a decade after their latest opus, the international force Mascharat returns with a new offering – “Ars Aurea Mortis”, out now via Remparts Productions. Physical copies are available here: https://bit.ly/3NTnlFc, while digital files might be obtained at the official BandCamp page of Mascharat: https://bit.ly/3Mhka9W. All music was recorderd by Mascharat & Carlo Meroni (ADSR Decibel Studio), while the mixing and mastering were handled by Carlo Meroni (ADSR Decibel Studio). The album cover artwork was crafted by Gozer Visions.

Mascharat is an Italian/French band. The themes developped in their music are occultism, literature, carnival traditions. After a demo and a full-lenght “Ars Aurea Mortis” is Mascharat’s third rising from the shadows. The name of the band derives from the arabic language, and means of “joke, prank, trick” and “immoral and chaotic situation”. The word traces also the origin of the italian term “maschera” (engl. mask).

“Ars Aurea Mortis” is inspired by the concept and aesthetic of the masks, while exploring different themes related to alchemical esothericism, literature, philosophy and ars goetia. The aesthetics of disguise evoked by the mask represented in this album are linked more specifically to the idea of the transformation of human being and matter, against a broad backdrop of philosophical and literary references. The process of transmuting metals into gold thus takes the form of an initiatory journey, constructed through a dialogue between the initiate and the Mask, which sets the pace of the transformation and at the same time determines the outcome of the operation.

The four central tracks – “Nigredo”,” Albedo”, “Citrinitas” and “Rubedo” – represent the four original stages of the transformation of matter, corresponding in alchemy to the processes of decomposition, distillation, combustion and sublimation; while “Intro” and “Outro”, together with “Re Mida” and “Lapis” (the Stone), form the framework within which the initiatory quest takes place.

Tracklist:
1.Intro 02:11
2.Re Mida 06:09
3.Nigredo 06:38
4.Albedo 07:01
5.Citrinitas 06:45
6.Rubedo 04:55
7.Lapis 05:29
8.Outro 01:55

Listen below: