# Schammasch – Contradiction Vinyl Review
Schammasch, the Swiss avant-garde black metal collective, deliver an ambitious and sprawling sonic journey with Contradiction, released in 2020 on Prosthetic Records. The album represents the band's continued evolution beyond traditional black metal boundaries, blending atmospheric experimentalism with raw metal intensity across nine tracks spread across a double LP format.
The album opens with the monolithic ten-minute title track, immediately establishing the project's progressive approach to composition. Standout moments include the introspective "The Inner Word," a thirteen-minute odyssey that showcases the band's ability to build ethereal soundscapes, and the closing seventeen-minute epic "JHWH," which provides a grandiose finale to the ambitious work. "Split My Tongue" and "Provoking Spiritual Collapse" offer more direct metallic passages, while shorter pieces like the two-and-a-half-minute "Crown" serve as effective interludes.
Contradiction demonstrates Schammasch's willingness to challenge genre conventions, weaving spiritual and philosophical themes throughout expansive arrangements. The vinyl format emphasizes the album's conceptual flow, making it an essential addition for collectors seeking challenging, intellectually demanding black metal that refuses comfortable categorization.
