Contemplating the “self” as a servile skin, a dimensional casting to be shed of its master Oakland, California-based dark death metal duo MEFITIS illustrates their shattering of the illusory process of becoming on this third and bisected full-length album. ‘The Skorian // The Greyleer‘ showcases these impeccable musicians’ development over the course of two unified sessions spanning roughly four years with further integration of their own personal taste beyond the high-skill strictures of classicist and romanticist blackened death metal muse, now better defining their “dark metal” style. Split into two distinct acts which are compacted into intense detailing (as expected) what may surprise the knowing fandom upon return to Skoria is the sullen expressivity in their work, songcraft which now models itself for emotive and dramatic effect of a new magnitude.

Mefitis formed as a duo circa 2007 taking three years to detail their general musical intent which’d initially appear built from interest in the high points of “classic” 90’s black and death metal with high-level requirements in terms of technicality and clever compositional personae (re: early works from each: Sentenced, At the Gates, Demigod, Septic Flesh). By 2010 they’d gone on hiatus of some sort as drummer Pendath formed technical death metal band Fabricant and spent three years developing said band in a similar way. There a pattern of growth had been established, some intensive vision had formed, and the duo would resurface in 2017 readied to approach the ambition in mind. Their material beyond that point has been impeccably shaped detail by detail, note for note into meticulous and dramatic forms. Their debut (‘Emberdawn‘, 2019) [#33 on my Top 50 Albums of 2019 list]took direct aesthetic and musical inspiration from Finnish death metal but developed their own world despite the ‘old school’ scenery in mind. No doubt I’ve attempted to describe their signature in various reviews over the years as musically accomplished fluidity, melodious and technical feats which reach for the conversational ranting highs of music far beyond the tenets of heavy rock and/or populist extreme metal muse. They call it “dark metal” and while I didn’t get it to start, I believe this album makes the full argument for the tag.

‘Offscourings‘ (2021), the band’s second album and the most important springboard unto ‘The Skorian // The Greyleer‘ carried even more personalized lore, exaggerative style, labyrinthine strides of gloriously round and wheeling statement which’d impressed me to no end. The level of accomplished work they’d achieved in just a few years earned the album not only another glowing full-scoring recommendation in review but also a spot at #16 on my Top 75 Albums of 2021. The reason I’d felt that album deserved such praise was that it was not referential or nostalgic, simply skilled and distinctly the work of the artists involved and those songs are all still just as memorably set in place today as they were three years ago. So, the hype heading into this album was incredibly high a sparking beacon in my mind palace as one of the most anticipated releases of 2024. Not to mention they’d previewed some in-development material in a 2022 interview and since then signed to Profound Lore who’d given Fabricant‘s underrated ‘Drudge to the Thicket‘ in 2023 beyond worthy treatment.

All things considered there was an assured victory at hand here in terms of whether or not this third full-length from the band added to their legacy, as every step taken beyond ‘Emberdawn‘ had prepared the conscious fandom of where things would go next. Likewise ‘Offscourings‘ included a cover of Stara Rzeka‘s “Nie zbli​ż​aj się do ognia” a low-key signal of some manner of obscure, avant-garde post-punk seeping into their oeuvre over time. What gathers in mind upon approach of ‘The Skorian // The Greyleer‘ is something like philosophically charged grimdark fantasy scenario rather than scenery, deep-set in its gritted and bleak view but no less thick with the thorn-riddled rushes of technical musicianship. Some considerable space has been made in their over-active guitar voicing to allow narrative and mood to charge this new vision of Mefitis with a different type of gravitas, actions suitable for such restlessly creative minds who cannot help but strive for something more “daring” and personal.

That second album was a labor beyond the idealized self, a tasking of the band’s core songwriters to develop a guitar centric vernacular which’d been applied to fluid, surprising pieces that’d turn a thousand corners in the hall of mirrors created. The kaleidoscopic turns of ‘Offscourings‘ were obsessive, semi-linear in their quick-paced fever dreamed blackened-death reeling but this was only just a second basal layer for Mefitis‘ musical intent, a most representative evolution of their craft. Even back in 2021 I believe they already had sights set on the next chapter, a suggested EP which seems to have expanded into another tome entirely with ‘The Skorian // The Greyleer‘. In the interim they’ve not only figured out the lore, the mystic realm of fantastical surrealistic muse (re: Skoria) but also the first signs of passion and pathos which turns their stoic dramatism and philosophical quandary into a romanticist dysphoria as much as remains intellectual query. As we step into the first of two distinct halves ‘The Skorian‘ being the fours songs of Side A and ‘The Greyleer‘ being the latter four songs of Side B, we witness feats which offer no less of a rush but all the more ear-catchingly stated using the kinetic strife of ‘Offscourings‘ to engage the well-instructed ear.

A sense of fantasy pervades, wrathful and dark as Mefitis scrolls into “Vire’s Arc” already revealing a punchier bass guitar tone crossing in suspension between their Svensson-esque dual guitar streams and various black metallic elements such as the whirring keys that surge around ~1:45 minutes in as the energy in the air shifts and the meter of the song. From my point of view this might’ve been brimming with hype-worthy continuation of their voice, an energetic tension that feels electric from the first note struck but the song itself has more than thrashing death portents and melo-black omens to offer up front. The vocal range covered is insane to start, from deep guttural death roar to rasping narrative, but by the time the action has taken its third temporal shift we’re getting a men’s chorale in hymnal distress around ~3:28 minutes in and some gothic/post-punk theatre in some of the later verses. This is what I’d consider “dark metal” done in a way which is neither moderne or archaic but estranged and decidedly different from the more explosive vocalizations/chorales that’d helped characterize their work on the first two albums.

From there ‘The Skorian‘ is both pensive and rousing as Mefitis continues to flesh out both the breakthrough set of vocal talents explored and the more intimately stated existential dread at the core of this albums overall experience. This tonality is the glue which merges each side of the albums though I will say that Side A was perhaps obviously written first or acts as a bridge from ‘Offscourings‘ into this newly realized portal. “The Untwined One” does a particularly good job of showcasing their strong choices for dynamically cohered instrumental tones, harmonic buildering within their upscaling command and us of deceptively technical arrangements while also allowing those things to act as a gateway to romanticist blackened death metal dramatism. We get closer to the post-punk and neoclassic tilted vision of this album per the textural rhythms and further vocal outbursts of “Watcher Over His Own” but also some more narrative fanfare as emulated horns assist the marching out feel of the song. As suggested by the provided notes each half of this album does well to present a contained unit and part of this has to do with the unique modus employed in creation of each side.

The original idea for this album began as a feat which paid dues to the analog medium, intending a four track recording process which was then digitized, a feature which I assume was for the sake of embracing the challenge of simplicity as well as authentic steps taken between past and present. This doesn’t mean that stepping into ‘The Greyleer‘ over on Side B with “…And the Mason Wept” features a wildly different production sound or any enormous sonic surprises on a tech level to start but rather that it becomes evident that their songwriting and overall working relationship had benefitted from time split between each separate recording process. It is “Wanthriven” that fully shocks in this regard per its racing bassline, extraneous post-punk revival guitar tones and of course the clean vocals which direct the song itself. We could’ve considered this type of breakthrough imminent at all times in their discography thus far but this seems like the right time/release for their gothic/post-punk muse to crash into the meticulous vernacular developed and give it an over the top point of view. It is also by my own observation one of the most involved compositions on the full listen per the drum work, the swells of guitar interest in the second half and the haunting chorales at the end.

“In Gloom’s Gorge” and especially “The Greyleer” manage to continue to surprise, set themselves apart but enhance the whole of the experience with this eerie extension of the self. They’ve suggested that Side B is a mirroring of Side A, a second potentially darker half on an album which thematically toys with the idea of the self in a fantastical way. In this sense there is great parity in quality and compelling material on both halves of this album, they keep it going with the goods despite some drastic feeling changes arriving quickly. For my own taste it’d all blend into one great album over time though I’d consider ‘The Greyleer‘ side an escalation, a whole new ouevre that needs further expansion, whereas ‘The Skorian‘ is a reintroduction that reframes their talents to bridge and brace the expectations of the ‘ready familiar listener. I’d found that gaining some familiarity with the second half served to elucidate details I’d passed over in observing the first half, leading to countless cycling between Mefitis‘ dimensional rift ’til it all became the same adventure and protagonist.

There are too many details to continue prattling on about, “The Greyleer” is particularly inspired in that regard, but the whole of Mefitis‘ work is yet again another great work and a new peaking moment for a band who’ve a flawless discography for my own taste at this point. I’d appreciated that the full listen was of course demanding for its note-for-note count and insane level of detail, be it flourish fill or sheer accoutrement (right down to the ‘Love of Lava‘-style leads of the quasi-title track) but also approachable as a ~42 minute record in eight digestible pieces all of which count for something, differentiate themselves and relate in their flow through. I could feel the attention paid to the track-by-track flow and reveal of the album as both natural and shocking when it needed to be.

Could they be more tuneful? The focused sincerity and performative bravado in linked arm here shouldn’t be interrupted and given to popular music tics just yet as the band’ve done so well to characterize their own adventurous sense for “self” and arrangement. Any too-clear directive might skew the self-directed flow of things. From my perspective this is probably the most memorable set of songs from the band and a natural step toward profundity beyond the insane flexing of skill we know they’re well gifted with; Otherwise it is also their finest production value offered to date, enhanced by thematic high-fantasy fiction worthy cover artwork by Billy Norrby and an inner booklet which gathers representative art from other artists as well. It’d suffice to say ‘The Skorian // The Greyleer‘ is the best overall effort from Mefitis to date. Whether it proves to be a transitional work or a defining one in the long run I figure if you were already a fan of their past work but didn’t see the potential for expansion I’d suggest this third album offers a flood of fresh ideas in bold waves. A very high recommendation.

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