There is good reason to fear that which rises from its grave twice though we cannot be sure the shambler(s) from the star-lined tomb of Niederwerrn, Germany-based black metal quartet Baxaxaxa‘d ever slept in the last two years, they may just as well have remained roving in the shadows all this time. Today they intend to breach distant shores, raise their ranking numbers and carry this newly skin-bound tome representing the followers of an ancient curse. ‘De Vermis Mysteriis‘ is for the green-eyed lurkers in the copse, a channeling from crypt-keepers intent on returning to a darkest primordial point of daimonian possession and constructing a freshly dramatic scene from it, one which ambitiously leans into its own brand of dark, doomed and ancient black metal to the point of unexpected and outsized resonances.

Though the Bavarian mystery sect would officially form stillborn circa 1992 all but the cruelest elite tape-dealers would’ve had no idea who Baxaxaxa were until a compilation CD was released around 2002 when long-running and still underrated German black metal diabolus Ungod had disbanded nearby their 20th anniversary, releasing their 1992 demo ‘Magicus Tallis Damnatio‘ in commemoration paired with the very much related ‘Hellfire‘ demo from the same year, a time when Baxaxaxa featured Ungod‘s drummer and original guitarist (who was also in lesser known project Fulgor). These are important archives of German black metal in what I’d consider the early second wave wherein I’d venture some influence was taken from early Samael and Mortuary Drape beyond the obvious things influencing young underground dark metal enjoyers in the late 80’s/early 90’s, I mean they weren’t cloning the second Darkthrone album at the very least. The original sound of the band wasn’t pure gloom but there was a hypnotic, doomed element to it that would eventually translate into the band’s idealism when reforming under new membership circa 2017. I’d more-or-less said all of this in more elaborate terms in review of their debut LP (‘Catacomb Cult‘, 2021) giving it high marks and naming it as one of the more memorable black metal releases of that year.

Oft mid-paced, auld in its grind and referential of technique one’d have to have sourced first-hand from the 80’s and 90’s, Baxaxaxa‘s debut was the real thing, an olden unearthing with plenty of its own character which we likewise find on their unexpectedly quick return for a second round. That isn’t to say that this is a second set of the same ghostly ‘old school’ black metal but an evolved and inspired second take on the idea which now features a fifth member, keyboardist Irrwycht (Grabunhold, Runespell), helping to reshape and restate their increasingly voluminous presence. The wooden thump of the drums, the buried grind of the bass guitar and the malevolent trade-off between the two main guitar channels are all still vitals parts of the band’s sound but it naturally opens up here on the second album, recognizing the strength of their longer form pieces and leaning into the gloom while backing it with quicker snarling ~4-5 minute black metal songs.

Side A and B more-or-less mirror each other in that both halves of the experience feature an extended finale piece while their respective innards seek to extend the reach of the band’s capabilities. This includes some faster paced wounding here and there, even a bit of blasted-at rhythmic barbarism such as the second half of “Kiss of Shame” but overall they’ve packed more detail into each piece here and focused on their atmospheric reach just as much as the riffcraft driving their invasion. When taking a look at the bigger picture temporal passage is a key measure of depth herein, how fully into their skin each piece the better we’ve a chance to strike upon the brilliance found in the details of songcraft. Opener “Seed of Golgotha” and its church window bursting anthemic start bounds with what I’d consider a ‘Worship Him‘-level stride, hitting about two riffs in its first two minutes but it is simply functional as a big introductory moment next to the twisted, Attila-esque gnarl and thrashing-doom of the title track (“De Vermis Mysteriis”) which is perhaps the most aggressive or at least clever use of pacing to drill at the ear. For my own taste a whole album of just “Kiss of Shame” style staggered blasting would’ve just as well entertained but to start it all feels like a step beyond ‘Catacomb Cult‘.

Their many possessed cabal moves as one as “Awaken, the Old Thing in the Ground” strikes the bell of black doom and no question this type of slow and engrossing release of morbidity is what I’d shown up for in grabbing a Baxaxaxa release despite enjoying the tuneful variety of their debut and their classic demo. They’re particularly good at constructing restlessly sinister, doomed movement and the extra insight into the keyboard work makes the approach of the ~3 minute or so mark, where inverted braying and what sounds like a sitar smoke up the room with their summoning. In that moment ‘De Vermis Mysteriis‘ became something else, or, at least tripped me up with an unexpected moment before the final third of the song took its own turn and I suppose it is needless to suggest that the real depth of this record comes in its longest pieces. “Above the Stellar Gateway” barges in right away, a rousing pull-out of the prior piece and because of the use of keyboards for the opening verses it’d been the most Hellenic black metal reeking song on the album and I’d say one of the most engaging pieces of the lot.

At ~42 minutes long ‘De Vermis Mysteriis‘ puts a lot of its unholy faith in the success of closer “Necrolatry Libation” a verbose ~10.5 minute expanse that pushes beyond the stratospheric hum of “Awaken, the Old Thing in the Ground” with its dark glow, nearly hitting a Tiamat-esque drift as the first half of the song builds. The peak of this mountain is arguable as the empyrean peak nearby ~4:27 minutes in gives way to a more biting set of chugging rhythm guitar work beyond the transition around ~6:12 minutes. For all of my pecking at it it is a very simple in effect piece which acts as an unusual final spire to go out on but a fittingly dramatic piece that’d quickly and easily caught my ear. Hitting that final elevation momentarily suggests it is an outlier and that the bigger-picture drift of the full listen is fairly accessible but as I’d wheel back to the start of the record on loop it was clear this album was more about the walk from point to point, that the destination made just as much sense as the starting point.

‘De Vermis Mysteriis‘ isn’t quite as memorable as ‘Catacomb Cult‘ had been for me a couple of years ago but it is far more accomplished in its atmospheric definition, eerie in it’s uniquely doomed early 90’s black metallic voice which is unmistakably Baxaxaxa‘s own retching, doomed form of possession. This time around things took a bit longer to click into place but ultimately delivered upon the promise of the mid-to-slow paced doomed yet dramatically stated pieces which’d been their strength from the get-go. While I could probably argue for uglier sounds and grittier render that’d be for the sake of pandering to old expectations, already heard sounds whereas this second album from the band creates its own horrified glowing presence as it spins its greater yarn and no doubt that helps it read all the more unique and repeatable for my taste. A high recommendation.

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