DEATHCODE SOCIETY is a Symphonic Black Metal band out of Annecy, France. They formed in the dark ages of 2009, released their debut album, “Eschatonizer,” in 2015, recorded a live album in 2018, and finally, issued their sophomore studio album, “Unlightenment,” in November 2023 via Osmose Productions. A bit of a wait for the last one there, but the worth it.

To be clear, “Unlightment” is more Black Metal than Symph. If you’re looking for Folk instrumentation accented with siren vocals going on about unrequited love, this is not your stop. As their name suggests, DEATHCODE SOCIETY veers to the extreme side of metal not only in their lyrics and themes but in their sonic assault.

Thematically, promo material states: “With lyrics bathed in dark surrealism – two of them being rendering of poems by Andrew Joron and René Daumal—“Unlightenment” is a musical journey through the Other Side and this gloomy maze where psychosis, murderous urges and mystical obsessions endlessly wander.” For those who are curious, Andrew Joron is an American ‘experimental’ poet. If he was a metal subgenre, he would probably be Avant-garde. René Daumal was a French writer known for his spiritual and para-surrealist work. The word avant-garde figures prominently in his profile. So you get the idea that both of these guys are kind of out there, which perfectly suits DEATHCODE SOCIETY.

The cover artwork by Kjell Age Melland perfectly captures the ambiance of the album with the depiction of a Lovecraftian beast chewing its way through a time rift made of bile. If you haven’t run into Kjell’s artwork previously, ‘tis the work of nightmares.

As for the album itself, it has a solid runtime of over 52 minutes across seven tracks. It cranks out with the scathing “Scolopendra.” The scolopendra is a mythical sea-creature that could puke up its bowels in order to dislodge a fishhook. Guessing that explains the cover art. Track two, “Shards,” takes up the Symphonic mantle, with thick layers of synth providing atmosphere but also flourishes which border on Pirate. Not my favorite track. Felt like the band was pushing too hard on the Symph. The good news is that by the third track, “La Nuée,” the band corrects its course and strikes a better balance between Black and Symph.

The center track, “Scales,” is one of my favorites. Here the band embarks through several movements, exploring a variety of tempos, styles, and tones. This continues through the rest of the album. “Mazed Interior” ventures into Prog regions, “A La Néante” (trans: To Nothingness) is epically cinematic, and “Narcosis” takes us back into the scathing, roiling sea for the first half of the track and then slows to Doom proportions in the second. Fantastic closer.

 “Unlightment” is an album that grows on you—a sort of necrotic infection that rots not only your flesh but your soul. A solid sophomore offering from DEATHCODE SOCIETY. Makes you want to check out their earlier works as well as anticipate what else they may have in store for us.