Believe it or not, it’s always a strange, wonderful surprise when a band reaches out directly. No PR fluff, no management middlemen — just a simple “Hey, give this a listen.” And nine times out of ten, it’s at that moment you realise you’re not just talking to yourself all the time, that there are other mad bastards out there paying attention. And every so often, one of those emails lands a gem straight into your lap. Case in point: Abhorrent Flickering Of Obscurity by Dizziness.
I don’t know how I missed this last year when it first dropped. At the time, I was digging through Bandcamp multiple times a day, scouring every corner of the underground, and somehow this slipped past me. And what a goddamn crime that would have been. Because this album isn’t just Black Metal. It’s a meticulously constructed, atmospheric, symphonic assault that stretches the genre, bends it, and at times elevates it to the sublime.
The six tracks on offer demonstrate a collective mind that is both expansive and erudite. Four of them are based on literary works: Hell’s Gate (A.E. Housman), Winter-Lull (D.H. Lawrence), The Iron Gate (Oliver Wendell Holmes), and The City In The Sea (Edgar Allan Poe). To frame Black Metal with poetry of this calibre — to give each song a narrative and emotional depth that transcends the usual riff-blast-fury template — is no small feat. Then there’s a reworking of a Greek laïka piece by Babis Bakalis, proving that Dizziness are unafraid to pull from sources most bands wouldn’t dare touch, and a closing nightmare soundscape set to the spoken words of Alan Watts. Who thinks like that? Who builds a Black Metal record this intelligent and unsettlingly beautiful? Dizziness, that’s who. And praise Satan for it.
And if that wasn’t enough to cement this as an essential listen, Dizziness bolster the already formidable core lineup with a host of guest vocalists. Arkhon Sakrificer (Temple Of Evil) contributes to Smoulder Dun and A Limping Pilgrim, Astraea (Melan Selas) on Into Nullity, and Beldaroh (Besatt) on Shrunk. There’s also Pyriflegethon, lending Gothic-style vocals that feel like the soul of someone born wearing corpse paint, head-to-toe in black, eyeliner sharpened to a blade. Each contribution adds further layers, weaving a complex tapestry of menace, melancholy, and grandeur.
Musically, Abhorrent Flickering Of Obscurity flows effortlessly between crushing Black Metal intensity and symphonic, almost cinematic interludes. There are moments of sheer aural chaos, tremolo picking and blast beats that shred, but just as often the listener is given space to breathe, to feel the poetry, the atmosphere, the dread. There’s intelligence here — an understanding of pacing, tension, and the delicate balance between beauty and brutality.
This is a record that demands attention, rewards patience, and leaves you haunted long after the last note fades. It’s ambitious, audacious, and unflinchingly brilliant. Dizziness have crafted a work that is more than music — it’s a total experience, one that cements their name firmly in the annals of modern Black Metal.
Abhorrent Flickering Of Obscurity is available from the Dizziness Bandcamp page.
CHOICE CUT: A Limping Pilgrim
BLACK METAL ARCHIVES VERDICT: A monumental achievement in atmospheric and symphonic Black Metal, Abhorrent Flickering Of Obscurity is intelligent, expansive, and utterly captivating. Dizziness have not just created an album — they’ve conjured a living, breathing work of art that will haunt and enthral in equal measure.
