Rêx Mündi's debut album bears a title --
IHVH -- both obscure and unpronounceable (lest you can "speak" Kabbalah), and that says much about how little is known about this mysterious new entity emerging out of France's recently booming black metal scene. One thing's for sure: the avant-garde influences of compatriot black metal occultists
Blut Aus Nord are peppered throughout this opus amidst the more traditional black metal elements like blastbeats, razorblade riffs, and throat-lacerating cries, yet
Rêx Mündi are still eclectic and inventive in their own right. Many tracks simply grind to a halt unexpectedly now and then, giving way to abstract noise collages ("J'Imagine [Be-Reshit]"), schlock-horror movie soundtracks ("The Flesh Begat"), and what might liberally be described as free jazz from the ninth circle of hell ("Naphtali"). Meanwhile, both "Patrimoine Génétique" and "Bloodline Imagery (Achieving Synthesis with Hokhmah)" surprisingly flirt with blackened death metal hallmarks à la
Behemoth or even
Morbid Angel, with the latter also boasting dramatic movie soundbites and unusual English lyrics, obviously. Finally, a pair of lengthier meditations showcase the extremities of the band's ambitions, from the protracted black metal purity of "Raising My Temples" to the creative breakthrough of "Pious Angels (Sefer Seraphim)," which introduces more deliberate, majestic metal hallmarks and a cantor dramatically chanting passages from the Kabbalah. In unison, these foreign ingredients are obviously attempts by
Rêx Mündi not only to establish a distinctive signature, but to humanize
IHVH's nihilistic black metal attributes somewhat -- even if unconsciously. They achieve both goals with moderate success and sporadic inspiration, so while there will be higher expectations come opus number two, you must commend them for acquitting themselves quite nicely this first time around. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia