Favorably impressed by "Tartarus" (2017), which allowed him to reach a milestone both in terms of quality and power, black and torrential, it is therefore with a not feigned pleasure that we welcomed this fifth effort of W.E.B., acronym of Where Everything Begun. However, we have to admit that the Greeks fail this time to excite us as they did four years ago.
Cathedral rich of a cataclysmic emphasis, the form honors the title of this album. Technically, the musicians are sharp (special mention awarded to the punch Nikitas Mandolas) and the symphonic arrangements shine of a dark and baroque brightness ('Murder Of Crows'). The influence of Rotting Christ is obvious in a particularly gritty menu, as illustrated by the hard-hitting 'Pentalpha'. Compositions such as 'Colosseum', jewel cut in a symphonic black as aggressive as luxuriant, or this 'Dark Web', which growls of a barbaric grandiloquence with vertiginous guitar lines, dig deep stigmas in the memory.
But then where this finally mixed impression comes from? From several elements. If the Greeks have never been stingy with brutality, they have never seemed so mean. What has happened to them in recent years to make them so angry? Nobody knows, but one thing is obvious: they have drawn from this anger a tenfold violence that leaves little room for melodies, well camouflaged under a thick layer of darkness and hatred.
As a consequence of this impetuosity, "Colosseum" ends up getting tired over time, which is reinforced by both the saturation of the sound space and a second part that is more messy if not less memorable than its dark and martial predecessor. 'Exaudi Luciferi' abuses samples, the instrumental 'December 13th' ends on a surprisingly radiant note that does not fit well in this furious set while 'Ensanguined' displays oriental arabesques that are frankly kitsch.
In the end, if the increased animosity of his art is not at fault, W.E.B. sins by his will to say too much, confusing finally density and excess. However, there is no doubt that some people will find their account in this "Colosseum" which is indeed colossal of ferocity, coupling symphonic excess and deluge escaped from the underworld.