### Korpius: Shades of black

#### 09/05/11 || InquisitorGeneralis

When death and black metal unite, wonderful things can happen. However, it has to be the rights elements of each for the unholy union to be successful, and blasphemous. Zyklon and Behemoth are the titans of this subgenre, with groups like The Funeral Pyre, Satan’s Host, Vornagar, and Belphegor doing some decent shit as well. Korpius are throwing themselves into the blackened death fire with “Shades of Black”, their debut record on the monolithic label Maple Metal Records. That’s a solid blast beat eh? What’s this whammy bar sodomy all aboot? I kid, I kid, Canada has produced some seriously awesome extreme metal bands. And Kataklysm too. Bruit!

You would think that Korpius’ screw up would be too much blasting, poor production, or awful vocals, the big three issues I have with most black metal related stuff. Sadly, it is a strong whiff of deathcore queef that brings this record down. The production is good, the vocals tolerable, and the songs are not over blasted. It pains me to say this, but I “Shades of Black” might benefit from some more blasting and speed. That is recommendation I rarely make. However, the stench of derivative breakdowns and time changes is potent. Korpius should listen to their countrymen Neuraxis a learn how to come up with creative ways to change the pace.

It’s not all bad here. Actually, there is hope. “Six feet deep” and “At the point of death” have an old-school swedeath vibe. Korpius also throw in some solid melodic guitar work, as evident in “Awakening terror”. Thankfully, Korpius managed to avoid any deathcore-style vocals which would spell instant doom for “Penises of Black”. If Crapius can speed things up a bit, make their breakdowns and overall song structures more creative, and focus more on writing interesting riffs and solos they could make a pretty solid album. “Shades of Black” is not there yet, but it’s definitely not the worst piece of label-submitted shit I have had to swallow around here. When I heard that this was a mixture of black and death, I was expecting something awful and over-the-top like Noctem. Thankfully, Korpius leave the corpse paint and studded leather at home. Unfortunately, they have been listening to too much Suicide Silence.

I would encourage them to incorporate more traditional death and black elements and leave the ‘core for the rest of the middle school kids. There is just enough hint of “Aeon”-era Zyklon in “Shades of Black” to hold my attention. I would recommend these guys lock themselves in a room for two days with “Zos Kia Cultus”, the previously mentioned “Aeon”, and “Chaostream” and learn how to kick their game up to the next level.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Maple Metal Records
- Website: Korpius Myspace
- Band
- Philippe D’Astous: guitar, vocals
- Maxime Beriault: guitar, vocals
- Félix Lampron-Dandonneau: bass
- Paul Bérard: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Shades of Black
- 02. On the Edge
- 03. Fury
- 04. Stigmatized
- 05. Awakening Terror
- 06. Disillusion
- 07. At the Point of Death
- 08. Six Feet Deep
- 09. The Final Charge