Officium Triste Hortus Venenum

Last time we talked about death-doom metal, it was for the exquisite Spectral Voice album, Sparagmos. Still a favorite of this year, it’s stationed at one of the darkest, deepest corners of the sub-subgenre - surely evocative, but in the lizard brain sense. At the other end of the spectrum you get bands like Paradise Lost, Pallbearer, My Dying Bride, and today’s subject, Dutch legends Officium Triste, who press down on you with slow, churning weight all the same, but imbued with usually Gothic, even romantic emotionality that really hits when done right. This album is a special moment as it marks the quintet’s 30th anniversary in the business, but is Hortus Venenum special outside of that fact?

Opeth fans - hi - will recognize “venenum” as the Latin word for “poison”. Likewise, “hortus” means garden (hence the root word for horticulture), which gives us not only the literal title for the album - “Poison Garden” - but also some tonal hints as well. There’s something alluring and dangerous about the natural majesty of a garden, man-made or organically grown, being tainted. Is it a toxin that’s housed within the stems, stamen, and petals of a beauteous flower as a coexisting agent waiting to brush against an unsuspecting animal, or something aggressive that will wither the greenery away into a rotted, wilted pile of compost? You get a bit of both on Hortus Venenum.

Opener “Behind Closed Doors” stings with its first bars of dungeon synth keys that sound like the castle theme from Dragon Warrior, a curious welcome to the sort of haughty, aristocratic manor you’d find at the center of a story like this. The graveled vocals speak of a great narcissist “devoid of empathy” ruling over a kingdom. Vocalist Pim Blankenstein is remarkably audible despite his guttural registry, every syllable spilling from his throat detailing abject suffering and dying. Accentuated by orchestration, spoken word, and a general air of destitution, it sets the doom-first tone of the album. Musically, the melody the keys set up from the first ten seconds permeates throughout high above the rest of the instrumentation, and the soaring guitar lead on the bridge at the end is especially noteworthy.

“My Poison Garden” has more teeth. It’s the shortest track here and packs some of the most profound melodies. While Officium Triste are still very careful and deliberate with their pacing and tempos, you can feel the edgier points sink into your skin the more you listen, like a rabid dog’s teeth. The back end of the track is a hair-raising affair with some of the quickest guitars and emotional movements on the album. But “Anna’s Woe” is, by a fair margin, Hortus Venenum’s most affecting song. Likely given away by the title, it’s marred in loss with Anna’s spouse dying, reveling in the unavoidable cycle of life, but the song still finds a way to lather it up in some of the most beautiful instrumentation on the album. Pensive piano melodies, a touching instrumental break in the center, and guitars almost imitating the wails of the mourning at times makes for a darkly beautiful song. It’s truly funereal at heart, the black veil over the pale face of Hortus Venenum as a whole and a strong contender for best track on the album.

After “Anna’s Woe”, a notably weaker second half begins, but it’s not without its standout moments. While I appreciate some exposition in the form of spoken word, “Walk In Shadows” is a little heavy-handed with it, halting the song three times for about 30 seconds each. The fierce riffing and pinch harmonics in the center make it worth a try though, but it’s the definition of a deep cut on an album like this. “Forcefield” fares better - it’s a strong metal song with some bass rhythms reminiscent of something Iron Maiden would do in their prime. “Angels With Broken Wings” is the album’s long closer and while it’s lacking some of the punch the album’s first half landed with relative ease, it’s a dramatic song that completely fits in this sound with the woeful strings, sad melodies, and coldly demure energy - shout out to Jools Lebron. The midsection is rife with strong guitars similar to “My Poison Garden” making it a great summation of Hortus Venenum’s power and grace alike.

This is the band’s shortest album in their tenure and, honestly, good call. So often doom metal overstays its welcome because, by its nature, it’s a long-winded genre. Throw in some drama and theatrics, like the kind found here, and you’re looking at a veritable Iliadic venture in music form. Officium Triste just held it together enough for Hortus Venenum’s 41-minute runtime to feel worthwhile and smartly executed overall, teeming with nice elements that, while expected to a degree, encompass its dark themes and play to the band’s moody strengths.

Bottom Line: Hortus Venenum is a fine pre-game album for the coming autumnal festivities. As leaves fall and skies tint gray, Officium Triste can be heard soundtracking our season of death - at least if your biome came with it installed. Some overextending on themes dampens the experience, but it’s still a highly competent doom-centered metal album.