Kommando Baphomet - Under the Deathsign

KOMMANDO BAPHOMET - Under the Deathsign (GODZ OV WAR - CD 2020)

"Under the Deathsign" is a second album from Portuguese legion called Kommando Baphomet. I wasn't huge maniac of their debut CD "Blood Gospels of Satanic Inquisition" and after giving some spins to this new effort I have to say "Under the Deathsign" won’t change my mind drastically. This is almost weird, because mostly I am very keen for this sort of murky, insanely morbid and cavernous, bestial black / death metal. But there's always something about Kommando Baphomet that doesn't allow to me fully appreciate their music. 

I think that in case of "Under the Deathsign" one of the main problems is the production. Obviously, such style of extreme metal needs to have harsh, primitive sound, which would underline that chaotic and almost possessed feel of the music. It cannot ever be polished and weak. But with "Under the Deathsign" I feel like the sound simply lacks some power and more so, it all seems a bit muffled, like I was hearing a band playing, but in another room, through the wall. It just lacks that kick and loudness. I'm not sure why does it all so quiet, but the result is that often the music just fades in the noise and chaos. Most of the time these songs do not have effect on me, at all. It's almost a shame, as "Under the Deathsign" doesn't lack much to have a better impact. I can hear that there are some cool riffs and ideas, for instance in "Deathsign of the Kommando Baphomet". It's just not enough for me. 

Taking all aspects together, "Under the Deathsign" is not a bad album, it surely is better than debut and it's a solid slab of bestiality. I am sure I will be back to it at some point, maybe with time my opinion will change... for now I am not fully convinced. It should speak to maniacs of Archgoat, Teitanblood, Tetragrammacide and such wonderfully melodic pop bands. 

Verdict: 66/100

Evulse - Pustulant Spawn

EVULSE - Pustulant Spawn (GODZ OV WAR - CD 2021)

Someone may say that there are so many bands, especially in US, now, which play this murky and cavernous death metal that things can become too obvious and repetitive. Well, maybe in some cases they are, but there are still some bands, which I feel really excited about. And Evulse is exactly such band. First time I had a chance to hear them on "Call of the Void" 7"EP. It was very cool debut, but now they strike with another EP, "Pustulant Spawn", and it's even better. Much better. 

Four songs again, but I feel like Evulse did improve in such aspects as songwriting, providing us even more lethal riffs, with even deeper rotten atmosphere and better production. It all sounds so well that I can really see them rivalling such Fetid, Coffin Rot, Spectral Voice or Mortuous. They're already on the same level, even though Evulse are yet to record a full length. But damn, all these bands give something fresh and exciting for me, they are great proof that young bands can also deliver a killer death metal. 

Anyways, "Pustulant Spawn" unleashes four truly savage songs. "Repulsive Infestation" begins like monster-riff from Autopsy's morgue, there's that same vibe and disgusting feel. Other time there are some Incantation similarities, especially when speaking of the brutal, crushing heaviness of the riffage and guttural, vicious vocals. And even more when the music speeds up, turning into a merciless bulldozer. It's great that Evulse doesn't stick to just one same pattern over and over again, but balance the tempos, even add a bit of melody, like in "Depraved Sanctity"… They stick to rather classic patterns, but everything sounds just right, there’s not even a second, which would be dull or useless. Everything is just top notch. I can sense a great future for them. So, do not hesitate to grab this piece of plastic. I will keep my eyes open also for the vinyl version. 

Standout track: "Depraved Sanctity"

Verdict: 85/100

Szary Wilk - Wrath

SZARY WILK - Wrath (PUTRID CULT - CD 2021)

Szary Wilk is another new band on the Polish black metal scene, which I had to discover. They recently debuted with an album called “Wrath”. Not a bad start, if you ask me, I definitely enjoyed this piece of black metal. On the first listen what characterizes Szary Wilk the most are rather longer songs (circling around five, up to even eight minutes) and great melancholy and dark atmosphere, harshness and cold viciousness, so reminiscent of a lot of mid 90's black metal releases. Including Graveland, which seems to be a band that a lot of people compare Szary Wilk with. I would actually mention Polish black metal scene of mid 90's in general, not just Rob Darken’s band. But that’s me. 

Anyways, I need to say that I like how the raw production of "Wrath" can allow you to get a good listen on everything and each instrument is well audible. There's enough of that clearness to avoid a tiring mess of sounds, which so often appear on black metal releases. Szary Wilk managed to get that proper balance between these two aspects. Same as they balanced melancholic and rather slow paced black metal with more furious and aggressive parts. The first style does prevail, to be honest, but if you listen to such "Mortuos Voco", then it will turn out that when the music is faster or more up-tempo then Szary Wilk sounds the best, in my opinion. Especially that they build the music around many melodic riffs, what actually did surprise me a little, especially with song called "Wilczy taniec", which quickly became my favourite part of the whole album. That melody can also sometimes bring some old Swedish black metal to mind, like Throne of Ahaz’s “Nifelheim”, which is quite cool as well. Here and there I almost wonder how would it sound, if Szary Wilk added some subtle keyboards in the background, how much would that deepen the darkness of the aura of this music. It's almost a shame we cannot find out about that. But the songwriting is solid as it is, I have to say, every song has something interesting to offer, no doubt. 

What is my final impression on all of this? It surely is quite positive; I’ve listened to “Wrath” a bunch of times and enjoyed this music just enough to gladly add it to my collection. “Wrath” is not the most remarkable black metal I’ve heard this year, to be honest, it is almost mediocre, almost dull here and there. But that doesn’t mean it is something you should easily let pass on. I think that Szary Wilk do standout a little among nowadays scene, not many bands play such music nowadays, like it was taken straight from the fullmoon of 1995. That's good, definitely. 

Standout tracks: "Wilczy taniec" 

Verdict: 70/100

Crematory - Denial

CREMATORY - Denial (NECROHARMONIC - CD 2008)

Here’s Crematory - everyone's favourite German pop-metal band! And their obscure demos! Hold on, of course this isn't that band, here is Crematory from Sweden, the only band under this name, which deserves attention. They were formed in Stockholm in 1989 and gained a well-deserved cult status with three great demos and even better "Denial" EP. They were all collected on this CD, released by Necroharmonic Productions (there's also LP version, which I never managed to get). And let me tell you, this compilation is so much a must to have. Be careful though, you need to avoid the first press of it, as it sounds terrible and deserves only to be thrown through the window. But the second pressing has much better sound quality and this is what you need to get. 

Compilation begins with "Denial"... For me, it is one of the best recordings from the old Swedish death metal scene, I can easily put it aside to "Crawl", "Gardens of Grief", "Incantation" or "Time Shall Tell" - they are all equally amazing. But "Denial" is probably the most vicious and aggressive of them all, at least together with "Incantation". Riffs here are just supreme, almost grinding fast, what reminds me Abhorrence a little. But Crematory fantastically combined such utterly brutal and grinding heaviness with a bit of melody, just like they did in "Into Celephais" for instance. The effect is pure gold, for me. The production is so classic for the Swedish death metal scene, but for me "Denial" is one of the most noteworthy releases of the golden era. 

From "Denial" we go straight to the demos and first comes the earliest effort "The Exordium" demo (1990). Oh, it sounds really raw, but on this second CD pressing this demo was properly mastered, and the result is just great. You could already hear that even at such early stage, Crematory had some killer, twisted riffs and the pounding bass added nice heaviness to their music. There's always something incredible about such demos, especially that they were recorded by damn kids, when the whole death metal scene was so young and fresh. So... even if this music sounds a bit messy and definitely has that quite primitive feel, it still kicks ass. Interestingly, "Chunks of Flesh" from this demo was also re-recorded for "Denial" EP, and it definitely deserved it, as some riffs in it are just amazing. I only don’t like one song from this demo, "Requiem of the Dead", as it is just a mess of riffs. 

Next demos, "Wrath from the Unknown" and "Netherworlds of the Mind" were released in 1991 and 1992. "Wrath from the Unknown" showed a better form of Crematory. Especially production wise this demo was an improvement from "The Exordium", even though it was recorded at the same Studio Grottan. Stylistically it is kind of between Carnage and Abhorrence... Maybe also Afflicted (Convulsion), although less melodic. But the music remained brutal, twisted and dark, while vocals sounded even more demonic and repulsive. Damn, they even used keyboards in "Wrath from the Unknown", what is always something that deepens the obscure atmosphere in a good way. It is fantastic demo and along with “Denial”, “Wrath...” is the best effort from Crematory. On the other hand, "Netherworlds of the Mind" is a weaker demo. I don’t like some of the songs or riffs they did here, as they sound much less brutal and dark from the earlier stuff, it’s kind of more mellow, thrashy and groovy sometimes, even if there are still some fast, blasting parts as well. The production is also not so harsh anymore - the booklet for this compilation says: “recorded in November 1992 in the worst studio unleashed upon mankind”. Haha! Even if it is not entirely true, because I’ve heard worse sounding demos, you could hear that some of that power and savagery of earlier recordings was gone here. And I am afraid that sometimes it sounds a bit dull to me, surely not as impressive as “Denial” or “Wrath...”. I even like "The Exordium" more than "Netherworlds...” demo. 

All in all, this is a nice compilation. Sure, the sound quality is not always the best (but better than on the first press CD, anyway!), some of this stuff may sound terribly raw and primitive to some listeners... but damn, this is an important band for the old Swedish death metal band and at least “Denial” is a material everyone needs to know. 

Verdict: 80/100

Bestial Warfare - Desecrating Goat Assault

BESTIAL WARFARE - Desecrating Goat Assault (GODZ OV WAR - CD 2021)

There couldn't be a better word to describe music, which I'm hearing now than bestial. This is just perfectly fitting word for the merciless onslaught titled "Desecrating Goat Assault" by the band called Bestial Warfare. When I've first listened to this CD, I thought that this may be an Australian or New Zealand band, because it so reminded me such kommandos as Heresiarch, Witchrist, Diocletian or Temple Nightside... But no, Bestial Warfare are German - well, Germany also has some killer bands in this bestial death / black metal style, like I I for instance.  

Anyways, this was just first impression, which I had. What matters more is that Bestial Warfare really came up with brilliant album. I simply love that fierceness and violent character of this music, how merciless and brutal it all sounds, without even tempting us with more melodic or quieter fragment. This is pure sonic blasphemous assault, total savagery and mayhem, where riffs are like a rapid bombardment that will only leave ash and death. Riffs and song structures are rather simple, in the tradition of Blasphemy and Revenge. But while so many bands from this style rather bore me and are forgettable, Bestial Warfare did impress. I like how "Desecrating Goat Assault" sounds, the production is simply perfect, I like so many of these riffs as well as these insane screams and growls Blashphemer Evocator Incinerator Mass and Decius Christgrinding Hammerfist. There's nothing groundbreaking or unimaginable here, nothing what would rip all your guts out, but the quality is great, so I did enjoy "Desecrating Goat Assault" from start to finish. I want more.  

Verdict: 80/100