Summoned in psychic assembly to surrogate agora in order to bring gnōsis to the polis Paris, France-based melodic black metal quartet A/Oratos dictate their forum with deep pressure applied upon the pursuit of divine experience, knowledge gained from grasping at spiritual truths, as a suggested route toward freedom from the diabolic wastreldom created by way of materialism. Their ‘Ecclesia Gnostica‘ seeks to liberate the listener from purposeless, lowered existence per their own example, a complex yet painterly vision of melodic black metal. Their work offers both the spiritual loft and reaving mind one’d expect from subjects intended to be a repeated source of revelation and likewise present a detailed argument made for spiritual intelligence capable of identifying the veil of control placed over all men in modern society. In more practical terms, this debut full-length arrives with glorious purpose and fittingly grand black metal pieces which impress outright.

A/Oratos (roughly translated as “In/Visible”) formed circa 2016 by way of guitarist and main songwriter Wilhelm and Griffon vocalist Aharon intending to create their own brand of energetic and dramatically stated melodic black metal with a pronounced Gnostic theme. The original quintet that’d performed on the band’s debut EP (‘Epignosis‘, 2019), a fairly short set of three pieces, involved at least three members (presumably for live performances) who’ve since been replaced by a rhythm section comprised of two folks from related bands. The sound design and performances on that first set of songs was roughened and the performances average in terms of generating fluid melody though “Hymne au Firmament” came reasonably close to the acumen found on ‘Ecclesia Gnostica‘. Of course this is for the sake of four years work put into this debut LP as they’ve achieved a professional grade release with a slightly less crowded mix despite the many layers feeding into their presentation. As opener “Le Hiérophante” strides in we do not get an immediate sense of what highs are available to the full listen but rather a build toward them, noting a strong bass guitar tone and variety of vocal inflections used to create a successfully dramatic and representative opening piece which comfortably jogs through its thought.

That opening song is robust enough to generate interest, creating a clear thread of finesse which speaks to classic melodic black metal as well as some freshened chord shapes to keep things from reading as a throwback. The keystone necessary to hold this moderne French black metal momentum up front is “Daath” which contains both the core messaging of the album unfurled and the proverbial snake’s passage through, wherein we find a labyrinth of melodic phrases in rapid-firing, sometimes staggered or opposing layers which develop another strong lead guitar driven thread for all to take direction from. While my description should simply sound like the usual modern melodic black metal modus, including breaks for dramatic spoken word sections and plenty of pace changes throughout their reveal the core of “Daath” is its galloping movement and the groove which builds from it. There we get a clearest perspective to showcase what is both exceptional and mundane about this song, its movement fixated but springing and twisting in place like gears as the song builds what I’d consider a half-complete melodic thought. Likely the most lasting piece for concerted listeners on the full listen, “Deuteros” reaches a later-on Borknagar sort of feeling as its progressive metal etched loft stretches its wings toward chorales and ever-lifting off guitar progressions. The broad strokes of this song aren’t so profound in hindsight but the initial reveal of those movements are inspired in the uphill line it draws. Fixative as the melodic drive of Wilhelm‘s guitar arrangements are throughout this album, often in a somewhat technical showcase of arrangement, pieces such as “Deuteros” do the best job of recalling the theme and the mood of this Gnosticism-inflected work which concerns itself with light neoclassic motif stretched to a limit most will read as either progressive or post-black metal within their most ambitious peaks.

Had it been too soon to reach for the rafters with the choir and all that? There is a majesty to “Deuteros” which fits in as a natural but perhaps too-early peak within the progression offered by the first three pieces which introduce ‘Ecclesia Gnostica‘. My interest would naturally fade as the central voicing of A/Oratos lapsed in its distinction within the middle portion of the running order which followed. Granted there is a clever tension built and released within the inventive motions of “Ô Roi des Eons” and each song has its impressive melodic burst, a virtuosic touch, and nicely evolved sound design but it wasn’t until the simple brilliance of “De la Gnose Eternelle” that I’d finally warmed to ‘Ecclesia Gnostica‘ and began to appreciate the whole of its vision. It is also a fine example of how these folks both fit into the lush melodious standards set by French and Quebecois black metal of the last decade or two and where they stand out in taking what at least some small amount of interest in Hellenic and Swedish forms old and new. The full listen was never entirely immersive for my own taste but there were more than a few moments of radiant brilliance that’d been worth returning to a number of times.

Beyond the beauty of the rousing melodicism inherent to A/Oratos vision we can remain exactly that beaming in observation of the curation of fine art here between the Vincent Fouquet designed layout and artwork, symbolic but not entirely typified Gnostic pieces in metal, flesh and bone which’ve been given a warm palette of reddish blacks, greys and coppery gold for the sake of easily read symbolism (snakes, horns, suns, etc.) delivered in unexpected form. It conveys occult sacrifice outright perhaps, but this only pulls the eye into their realm with some wonder attached, doing an especially fine job of characterizing ‘Ecclesia Gnostica‘ with a fittingly “heretical” elegance. With this in mind and a highly repeatable full listen in hand I have to admit I’d had a sort of push and pull experience in admiring this debut LP for its obvious finer points and engrossing result yet there is a sort of plainness to its cadence which doesn’t always match the excitement of their themes, even if I did reach that point where I must’ve left the full record on repeat for well over ~4-5 hours there was no point where it took hold of my throat and gave me thrashing enough to demand my full attention. Beyond that point I found the full listen held up well upon return visits yet I’d never completely warmed to its voice. A moderately high recommendation.

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