ERSHETU, a progressive black metal project founded in 2021 by Void (lyricist and concept creator) and Sacr (composer), has just announced the release of their second album, Yomi (meaning 'Land of Darkness' referring to the afterlife in Shinto mythology), for November 8, 2024. While Intza Roca remains on drums to pace this darkly mystical tale, the vocals of Norwegian singer Lars Are Nedland (known for his work with Solefald and Borknagar), who featured on their previous album Xibalba, give way this time to Vindsval's voice (Blut Aus Nord), introducing a completely different universe–more spontaneous, anguished, and mysterious.
Black metal can retain its essence while taking a myriad of forms. What is particularly thrilling when listening to ERSHETU is that the essential envelope of darkness we all long for in this genre remains intact, while surprises arise with each listen. The astonishment of being confronted with distorted guitar sounds, furious drumming and heavy bass mixed with lesser-known instruments like the Koto (a plucked string instrument used in traditional Japanese music and as an accompaniment in Japanese arts), the Shamisen (a three-stringed guitar), or the Shakuhachi (a Japanese bamboo flute), instinctively plunges us into familiar yet unknown darkness, vacillating through exotic realms that distance us from our own certainties toward a certain uncanny mental restraint. The album also creates the surprise of bringing forth a concept which is more foreign to our culture than it seems: the underworld in Shinto mythology is situated beneath the surface of the earth, where the souls of the deceased gather. There is no hell, no paradise (the heavens are for the gods), no reward nor punishment. It is simply an allegory of the decomposition of bodies, combined with the idea of the soul's remanence after death. A poetic lightness is also unexpectedly present in the composition and construction of the pieces.
Indeed, we hear those souls, the tension that accumulates, the fear of the unknown, the anxiety of emptiness that oscillates and then tips toward a certain lightness of a liberated entity that becomes the silhouette of a ghost, retaining as its only sadness the separation from the world of the living and the loved ones who now need assistance. Vindsval delivers a gripping vocal performance that blends completely with the atmosphere, thickening it as much as it softens it, leading us between despair and tenderness throughout this spiritual experience, which challenges and questions just as it reassures simply by its existence as a work of art and a subject for reflection. Sekiryō remains one of the most beautiful tracks on the album, showcasing ERSHETU’s talent in its balance, progression, and musicality. However, the haunting and sepulchral Kagutsuchi, as well as Ketsurui, reminiscent of an incantation from another world, will also linger in our memories for a long time. With Yomi, the band signs one of the most interesting, inventive, and intriguing albums of the year, leaving us eager to unveil what other specters of death will be portrayed in their future creations.
