“As above/as below.” — The smell of old glue, rotting paper and dust-stained leathers sends the mind averso amne, wandering upstream of the “material-spiritual” as the mystique of his melancholic majesty translates a writ of knowledge-as-culture, surrounded by an arena where analysis of the palpable universe by natural philosophers gathers within one great white lime plaster glossed crypt and collection. An unwilling, deeply inbred late-Renaissance emperor who’d concern himself with veiled secrets of the natural world and the talents of Europe’s finest artists alike, our protagonist the alchemist king sought transmutation above all else as the inane promise of the Philosopher’s stone, transformation of the lower element to the higher, increasingly became the loudest calling of an insane mind. Called to the telling of his tale, the curious lingering of sulphur and juniper once again hangs in air as Bratislava, Slovakia-borne dark folkloric black/heavy metal quartet Malokarpatan coax and conjure a fourth full-length album musing upon the tragedian life of Rudolph II van Habsburg. An equally idiosyncratic feat as the last, ‘Vertumnus Caesar‘ entrances the unwitting listener with poetic imagery illustrating the secreted unreal, an undying thirst for the unknown per an auld directorial eye-and-ear for the spaces where 70’s progressive rock theatre, 80’s black metal vulgarity, and the swooning corpse of heavy metal might best depict the madness of the unwilling emperor and his occult obsessions.

Malokarpatan formed circa 2014 with a simple enough suggestion of ‘old school’ intent as 80’s black metal ideas that’d been shared between main songwriter Adam S. (Stangarigel) and vocalist Temnohor (Temnohor) both of whom featured in Remmirath alongside key members of Krolok who’d been in a formative stage at that point. While it might seem naive to assume that a Slovakian group might admire and take direct inspiration from the locus of Master’s Hammer, Tormentor above obvious ancient classics it was clear their sound early on aimed for the European mavericks who sought to extend the theatre and dark rhythmic turns of groups like Venom as the late 80’s underground called for deeper extremity and esotericism beyond personae. The product of this venture, a debut longplayer (‘Strid​ž​ie dni‘, 2015) came together quickly and without expectations which were, sure, naturally exceeded by exponent. If you are one to see a band for their skeleton, their components and their spiritus overlain then little had truly changed beyond that point being the line-up and some 70’s progressive/heavy rock traits giving loft and volume to their overflowing ideas from that point.

Looking back it’d be fair to say the follow-up (‘Nordkarpatenland‘, 2017) to that debut brought quick notice to Malokarpatan and that certainly checks out in my case as it’d been the album that’d made a fan out of me. They were aiming for a catchy 80’s heavy metal inspired sound and had their hook(s) inserted into my brains, quickly and easily at that point. They’ve an ear and a decent touch for classic hard rock/heavy metal guitar work and this’d translated brilliantly as foundation for the ancient, idiosyncratic style of black metal resultant. Of course the stage was set for a surprisingly serious, as in considered and accomplished, third album (‘Krupinské ohne‘, 2020) which’d been their official insertion into general notoriety. The response to the album on my part, per a positive review and placement at #21 on my Top 100 Albums of the Year reflected an appreciation for a consistently strong guitar-driven sound and the manner in which they’d integrated that 80’s heavy metal stride into first-wave black metal with the theatre of mid-70’s providing a dramatic backdrop for their first concept album. It was a perspective which (from my point of view) posited as far as the eye could see before 1990 without resorting to forced naivete. Just as that album felt additive to the ambitions of Malokarpatan‘s past so does ‘Vertumnus Caesar‘ build atop their castle with new subjects, new sounds, and a different sense of place in mind. The banners haven’t changed, the staff have turned-over a bit, but the main event is yet our witness to the increasing madness of the lord who’d leave his throne gathering dust as he’d go on pouring over his books and beakers.

Though I’ve developed no compassion for the cousin-fucking, crook-jawed Habsburg mutant within my own research, the life and times of Rudolf II suggest his rule was a thing of both compelling mysteries and vital history per the “western” world, of great importance for the advancement of the arts and sciences at the very least, and rife with all manner of interesting dramatic events beyond the dry cadence of Europe’s chess-like religious and cultural wars prior to the Thirty Years War. Mystery, alchemy, madness, obsession, and a celebration of the arts all contribute to the character of the fellow which monarchic history still accuses of “people pleasing” for the sake of getting back to his own intellectual and hedonistic pursuits. Malokarpatan obviously noted the alchemical (as the cover art suggests) and “occult” pursuits of the individual and this is where the bulk of their interest in the depiction focus. I’d add that the end of the Rudolf II‘s reign (a “Renaissance man” by any definition) neatly coincides with the end of the broadly defined Renaissance era, adding to the tragedian lustre of the concept album at least from my point of view.

To meet their own standards and self-justify existence, reinvention is mandatory. — The choices made on this record, erring toward a naturally homespun feeling (which black metal ought have) and a varietal, exaggerative style without reigns reinforce Malokarpatan as an idiosyncratic, self-directed entity and one which is not motivated by reinforcing commercial/populist tropes of “progression” by way of minimal incrementalism. What I mean to say is that ‘Vertumnus Caesar‘ holds the potency of their ritual without bleeding the same sacrifice twice, it won’t feel bigger than ‘Krupinské ohne‘ but rather comes improved in its cadence as a storytelling device. I’d come to consider it a second novel from an artist that’d found their point of mastery which is similarly ambitious, retains a similar length and such, yet holds fast the key voice and tact of the author. The auteur found their idyll in terms of medium back in 2020 but here they reinforce, refine, and adapt their depiction to suit the story told while still cutting throats with what is essentially wild-assed heavy rock music in spirit. If there is a compliment that I can give that isn’t so damned plain, I suppose it is that I’d set their work in the upper tier of Quorthonian ambition at this point where the old ways are yet their own creation per the applied standard for expression and embrace of their unique Central European identity and traditions.

Upon induction ‘Vertumnus Caesar‘ presents a familiar feeling in an unfamiliar way as its brief intro presents a filmic clip but this one is pulled direct from instrumentation relevant to the album per its early 70’s prog glow, rather than pull from the score of an old vampyr film. It sets a tone which is immediately dashed by the charging NWOBHM-level leading barge and shuffle Malokarpatan have presented as one of their main signatures in each of their records, already sounding related to the major devices of ‘Krupinské ohne‘ while also presenting unique keyboard/synth voicing and a more intense pace as “Kočár postupuje temnomodrými dálavami na juhozápad” acts as the momentum set, the medium unveiled and the motion of the piece capable of tuneful twists and turns. Said pace strays bestial one moment and neatly civil the next but never fully embraces the lycanthrope within, but certainly keeps the energy higher so that the ‘epic’ heavy metal twinge of their work is sustained yet electrified right out the gates. I wasn’t personally satisfied with this result in full until I’d heard the title track (“Vertumnus Caesar”) with its old timey blast pace and sauntering guitar synth/organ in alternating torrents eventually working up a brilliant amount of swagger beyond ~2:39 minutes in where perhaps the ‘heavy metal’ apex of the record comes quick before both real and electronic percussion begin to color the space dark and into the night, perhaps the first and most glaringly classic prog-rock moment to rise above embellishment on the full listen.

It took another song or two to convince me that ‘Vertumnus Caesar‘ was more than a follow-up on a similar verve, not quite a full reset but a new story and character arisen, and this one hasn’t shied away from the underpass shared between 70’s heavy rock and 80’s heavy metal riffcraft. The circa ’79 speed metal kick-in that opens “Vovnútri chlácholivého útočišta kunstkamru” up toward its early 80’s speed metal level riffs should reasonably read as NWOBHM-era Motörhead licks to some and I’d guess ‘Kill ‘Em All‘ (see also: “I hle, tak zachádza imperiálna hviezda”) level riffs to others while Malokarpatan‘s guitarists go on pulling off bongo hits, well-picked distorted synth tones, and I think a bird tweet without losing the captivity of their main verse riff. In a sense this is (again) what these folks have been doing since ‘Nordkarpatenland‘ and I am still a sucker for it as the base idea mutates in focus; The song itself finds our protagonist at an advanced stage of his collection, his castle featuring a menagerie with wildcats roaming the palace, and the subject of this song is the collection of “cabinets of curiosity” (Kunstkammers) common to the reigns of Holy Roman Emperors of this period and Rudolph II’s was one of the largest with over 35 sixty meter long cabinets which were documented and arranged as a sort of museum of the natural world and this piece sets his mind alight with collected knowledge, I would say in fitting tone per the music.

The middle portion of the full listen is arguably its most flamboyant in presentation, still managing the dizzying nigh speed metallic riffs you might only otherwise find in the left-hand techniques of Negative Plane these days but the tirades grow more extensive, the growls deeper without fully spiraling into the deep just yet. I’ve not information about the synths used for this album, but it never felt like the same tone was used twice or for the same purpose and for my taste the peak of this is “Maharal a Golem”, which is odd because it is also one of the heavier, more bestially summoned pieces on the full listen and a much needed shock of grime and growling black metal after the middle portion of the album began yanking us toward the disco. This is probably the most ‘avant-garde’ moment on the album from a certain perspective but also one of the most ‘pre-Norwegian’ black metal feeling pieces these folks have done and considering late 80’s black metal as a whole this shouldn’t feel like such a raw exaggeration. The song of course references a folk legend attributed to Judah Loew ben Bezalel who’d been inserted as the protagonist for the Golem of Prague story where a rabbi spirited to life a clay golem to protect persecuted Jews, the real-life fellow was a friend and confidant of Rudolf II by all historic accounts. Every piece on this album has some keen provenance which acts as a step down the spiral staircase of the emperor’s life as ruler and at this point we are working down a list which suggests (as historians have) that Rudolf II‘s passion was the Philosopher’s stone and transmutation of matter into gold, an obsession which not only interrupted his duties as ruler but distracted him from bouts of melancholia, depression and apathy.

Turning black stones to shimmering treasures. — ‘Vertumnus Caesar‘ and its production values presented a contained, analog sounding sense of space with at least three walls and exaggerated reverb which strikes the floor and echoes in porcelain surround, the centre of a church especially per the extensive bell-clanging epic “I hle, tak zachádza imperiálna hviezda” and the ghostly chorales and bopping-along basslines of “Mnohoraké útrapy milostpána Kelleyho”, one of my favorite pieces on the album. The austere tarantella of the main guitar riff, tainted with Malokarpatan‘s reverb-trenched sound, echoes deeper by way of simulated percussion, flatly swiped at beating of the drum and builds its own ancient ‘old school’ black metal horror up to a hideous yet quickly resolved point of intensity. The simple bass guitar tone sits clean and flatly electrified in the mix, very much in accordance with the late 80’s spirit of the band and in line with the sometimes artificial but well-tuned drumming. Though his work shines more on earlier pieces it was this particular piece where new drummer Axel Johansson (Chevalier) stood out for my taste. Much as I would like to go on in detail per the life of alchemist and charlatan Edward Kelley and how this song (“Mnohoraké útrapy milostpána Kelleyho”) references Rudolf II‘s employment, arrest, release, and second arrest of the fellow but it was of course for the sake of Kelley‘s claim to turn rocks to gold, a claim he’d die in jail for after seven years of producing little more than a broken leg.

As we march toward the point where the star fell up from the sky I’d gotten the feeling that, sure, if I understood Slovakian the amount of detail and provenance available to a full listen of ‘Vertumnus Caesar‘ might be equally taxing and illuminating but, sure, that didn’t stop ‘The Pact…‘ from being one of my favorite records the prior year. Malokarpatan have presented a bit of an opus which I’d have to concede gets its point, its concept and its narrative across more effectively than before and does so weilding little more than a wyrding collage of obscure traditions, personal flourish, and an ear for that which is both adventurous and dramatic at once. This, as it turns out, is a winning methodology for my own taste and I’d found myself slowly becoming hooked on their alluring and deceptively clever narrative style. Though there is precedence for what these folks do in the history of heavy and extreme metal past what these folks do is neither replicated from, nor replicable by any other entity with any possibility of similar affect as I am convinced that the high conceptual level of this sort of work is just as important as the idiosyncratic execution through song and this’d be the album to prove it beyond the already immersive last. One of the best black metal albums of the year. Highest recommendation.

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