It was but 2016 when TITAAN emerged from virtual/literal obscurity with its debut album, Kadingir, for ATMF. The work of one Lalartu, with no warning whatsoever, TITAAN here created a towering monument to black metal's most barbaric and avant-garde extremes. Kadingir existed on both tangibly physical and spiritual planes, thoroughly engrossing the listener with a miasmic, multi-layered experience. So monomaniacal was its minimalism but embellished with rhythmic and atmospheric elements no "normal" black metal band would ever attempt, TITAAN challenged the status quo in a most daring fashion. Not for nothing is Kadingir regarded as a modern classic in some corners. Now, TITAAN is set to eclipse that feat with the even-more-challenging ITIMA. A single, seamless 46-minute work - in the true sense of the word WORK, for there are layers upon layers upon layers within this forever-spirallng-downward labyrinth - ITIMA takes the firm foundation of Kadingir to yet further extremes. More violent, more atmospheric, more doomed, more ceremonial, more straightforward, more ornate, more of MORE: if there was ever any question before, here does TITAAN truly embody its namesake. Skillfully to say the very least, Lalartu threads together esoteric vibrations brewed in the abyss of Mesopotamic culture and unfolds an utterly ominous patchwork of past, present, and future; with ITIMA, TITAAN stands above and beyond all. Put another way, this is black metal at arguably its most cinematic - and breathtakingly so. In the none-more-vast world of TITAAN, no half-measures exist, and the totality is all. For that, ITIMA is graced with equally breathtaking artwork courtesy of Luciana Nedelea, whose dark mind visually embodies the album's central concepts of misanthropy, human futility, and merciless vengeance by the ancient gods. If Kadingir proved too daunting, either in 2016 or especially now, then one need not enter the evolving flux of ITIMA. For those of the hardiest, headiest constitution, however, TITAAN will gladly lead you into the catacombs of your darkest self...
