Dolorvotre - "Dolorvotre" (2011) [The Ajna Offensive]

If you pay attention to the underground black metal scene, then surely by now you’ve come across the Black Twilight Circle in some capacity, whether it be the name itself, a name of one of the many bands (or members) that make up the group and so on. If you follow The Inarguable regularly, then you probably saw the photos and live review from a couple of shows earlier this year.

 With the exception of a couple Ashdautas releases (which was prior to all the other bands/projects coming about), and the Black Twilight Circle comp released in mid 2009, there haven’t been any other CD releases until now. The Ajna Offensive decided to remaster (if you could even call the initial tape “mastered”) the Dolorvotre release and release it in CD form at 300 copies, and will later on release it in vinyl format as well.

The self-titled Dolorvotre tape was originally released sometime in the beginning of the year and has gone through a few represses (as practically all BTC releases have) since then. The project is headed by Eddie (aka Volahn), the de facto leader of the Black Twilight Circle, and what seems to be the mastermind behind a large majority of the work produced in the BTC, as well as a member of nearly every project. Juan (frontman of Arizmenda, and also part of a good few other projects) supplies drum work, as well as guitar, backing vocals, and keys, while Eddie does vocals, bass, and also guitars, keys and drums.

Like most Black Twilight Circle projects, Dolorvotre manages to stand on its own, and sounds quite a bit different from the other works. The intro starts us off with a short acoustic bit, accompanied first by some ominous keys in the background, and then just seconds after, ghastly wails and tortured screams. The next track, Brilliant Brightness, sends us off into the hellish, hallucinogenic induced world of Dolorvotre, and continues for nearly 40 minutes. The sound is still a bit muddied, but much less so then in the tape release. The drums, guitars, vocals and so on are quite distinguishable – a first time in a BTC release? Possibly. Moreso then the tape? Definitely. I can even make out the bass lines.

The lyrics, although indistinguishable as with almost all black metal vocals, lend perfectly to the music and atmosphere. Here are the first few lines of Brilliant Brightness for an example:

Awakened in a pool of piss,

retch & broken glass

Nights of violence, sex, drugs...

Rotted guts - charted lungs

In and out of consciousness

Poison mushroom distorted thoughts

Drowned in currents of alcohol

Deliver us

Hopefully that delivers the point. Though if not, it can be seen with the song titles alone (“L.S.D.”,”D.M.T.” and so on).

So, if you’re a fan of the Black Twilight Circle, make sure to check this release out, or maybe wait a couple months if you are a wax enthusiast. If you’ve been avoiding BTC releases due to sound quality and so on, well, now you no longer have an excuse. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not The Ajna Offensive, or any other labels, pickup and remaster and release any of the other releases. It’d sure be nice to have them on vinyl, but the additional sound quality is just as good of a reason as well, though some may prefer the murkier, muddled atmosphere of the tape version of the release, but at least now you can choose between the two.

The album can be purchased here: http://www.theajnaoffensive.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1609&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=31

-Chase