Band:	Hasard
Album:	Malivore
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	May 2023

01. Hypnocentrisme
02. Vicivers
03. Malivore
04. Choral Inane
05. Interespace

With 2017’s Les Chants Du Hasard, multi-instrumentalist Hazard experimented with black metal vocals and vibes within a purely orchestral setting. Hazard has now flipped the script with Hasard, as debut record Malivore is a chaotic, dissonant black metal nightmare into which he has infused some of those classical musical influences.

It’s not an insignificant jump to make; if one discounts those harsh vocals, there is no real metal basis to the music of Les Chants Du Hasard. Yes, it might have a dark, dramatic, bombastic tone to it, but plenty of orchestral music had accomplished this long before metal was even invented. There’s no logical path to walk from this starting point that naturally teaches oneself how to write demented dissonant black metal riffs, or how to assault listeners with vicious blast beats without overusing them. Some of the influences that surely helped in guiding this journey are Blut Aus Nord, Deathspell Omega and Abyssal, as Malivore incorporates the industrial tinges, hellish atmospheres and cavernous brutal insanity of those acts. In taking on board these influences, welding them together, and throwing in his own fresh ideas from a presumably classical background, Hazard has crafted something that, while clearly resembling established acts, sounds unique and inspired. This should be expected, really; it is on I, Voidhanger Records, after all.

As far as the metal is concerned, this album screams I, Voidhanger so loudly that it would be weird if it wasn’t on the label. It pretty much covers the range of established dissonant black metal, from gnarlier, deeper, cacophonic riffs through to harrowing higher-pitched tremolos, while the drums only occasionally take pause from brutal blasting for heftier double bass drums rolls. It’s chaotic-sounding in all the ways one would hope for, while still having enough material that’s sufficiently well written to emerge from the chaos and grab one’s attention. It would be a stretch to say that there’s memorable riffs, but the songs flow in rewarding fashions, punctuating frenetic assaults for slightly slower passages that invite headbanging, even while the guitars create insane dramatic backdrops. Closing song “Interespace” is particularly good for this, positively radiating bile while still offering something to latch onto. The title track is perhaps the place in which those Blut Aus Nord/Deathspell Omega influences really come to the core, as Hazard pulls back with the percussion in several instances to allow the discordant guitars and demented vocals fester in putrid atmospheres before unleashing further bursts of brutality.

If Malivore only featured what I’ve covered in the previous paragraph, it would still be a damn fine dissonant black metal record. What further distinguishes it from other bands in the scene is everything else it throws in. Some elements are more subtle; sections of “Hypnocentrisme” embody the industrial malice of early Blut Aus Nord, while both this song and “Malivore” flesh out passages with glowing ambient synths. It’s the more orchestral/soundtrack elements that really stand out though; at times, these are little more than ominous voices or synths augmenting the ongoing chaos, but there’s times when they take a greater role. “Hypnocentrisme” winds down from its blackened core as its approaches its end, descending into horror synth darkness for its final minutes, while “Vicivers” adds orchestral bombast to some pivotal moments in its closing stages.

The one true standout song on Malivore is “Choral Inane”, mainly due to a key guest invited onto it. The name John Steven Morgan may not be instantly familiar to you, but Metal Storm Awards enthusiasts should remember the piano black metal of Wreche, whose All My Dreams Come True was nominated in 2021. Morgan goes to town on the piano on “Choral Inane”; at times Hazard hands him the floor, but more often he’s running rampant on the keyboard while Hazard is laying waste with all the black metal tools at his disposal, resulting in a maddening yet compelling cacophony.

Overall, Malivore probably has about as much in common with classical music as Les Chants Du Hasard had in common with black metal, but it is those subtle moments, plus the decidedly unsubtle cameo from Wreche, that take a blistering dissonant black metal debut and elevate it to another level. With these two albums, Hazard has shown himself to be a truly versatile creator of evil music; the only question now is whether he’s got even more tricks up his sleeve.