Sulphurhaze / Omenfilth - Veneration of Cruel Lust

SULPHURHAZE / OMENFILTH - Veneration of Cruel Lust (PUTRID CULT - CD 2018)

This split was released by Putrid Cult and you can be certain that it's one of these utterly ugly, underground and little popular releases, which are recommended to the most dedicated maniacs only. Two bands are here and it was the first time I had a chance to hear them both. 

First comes Irish Sulphurhaze. And I like their music quite a lot. It's fantastic to listen to, blackened thrash metal... or maybe thrashing black metal haha??? Anyway, you could pick up strong influence from the 80's European thrash from bands such as Destruction, but also from newer acts like Nocturnal. In the most aggressive, fastest and obscure parts they even remind me such Destroyer 666 a little. But the music is good. Sulphurhaze came up with some great, sharp riffs, their music has a nice old school feel, good production and everything else that made me like it almost immediately. I've never been huge fan of these falsetto scream, but I can even live with them. Master's Hammer cover of "Jama Pekel" is definitely the most standout track here, but their own songs such as "Behold the Darkness" are also very good. Love how fast it is! Or "Buried Alive"! So, thumbs up for Sulphurhaze from me, great band! 

As for Omenfilth, they're from Philippines and there's Willie from Pathogen is in their line-up. Musically it's rather more obscure kind of black metal, more archaic and primeval, well rooted even in the 80's stuff. I can even find some traces of 80's satanic thrash and heavy metal in their music. To be honest, sometimes the music sounds a bit awkward and sloppy, it has quite strong primitive feel. And there's nothing wrong about it, but I can't say that Omenfilth music was brilliant. There are some good songs here like "In the Spirit of Cult Apostasy" and "Shades Cast no Shadows". I like some of their riffs and vocal lines, also the cover of "Evil" (good choice for Mercyful Fate song!) is pretty damn awesome. On the other hand, we have "Dawn of Damnation", which is live recorded, and is absolutely an unworthy piece of unlistenable crap. No point adding such songs here, really! So, on this split Sulphurhaze was a better band, Omenfilth is just something exotic to add to your collection of underground metal. One band would get a deserved 70, the other 60 max... so, the final verdict is 65. 

Standout tracks: "Behold the Darkness", "Buried Alive", "Jama Pekel", "In the Spirit of Cult Apostasy" 

Verdict: 65/100