REVIEW: Behemoth, "Live At Maida Vale" (EP)

By: Thomas Gonzales

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 24/01/2020

Label: Nuclear Blast

“Live at Maida Vale” DD track listing:

1). Wolves Ov Siberia

2). God = Dog

3). Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica

4). Bartzabel

The Review:

It’s always a treat to review a live album, especially when it’s from a band whose discography is one of the most prolific and iconic of the last two decades. Preceding the tour edition of their most recent album “I Loved You at Your Darkest”, Behemoth offered a sinister preview of what’s in store when the full release drops later this month.

Since their establishment in the early 90s, Behemoth have moulded a caustic blend of Polish Black Metal, Folk Metal , and Death Metal, pioneering the landscape of provocative anti-theistic, extreme metal that can chill as much as excite.

“Live at Maida Vale” is a raw and intimate session of live recordings, featuring a deliberate selection of tracks that best showcase Behemoth's live musicianship. Delicate acoustic segments intertwine with crashing drum beats, and thrashing guitars to create a melodic framework often absent in the Black Metal genre. It’s these types of musical choices, such as using a children’s choir to decry the injustices perceived by the singer towards God, that elevate Behemoth into the pantheon of extreme metal masters.

While at times a touch quiet in the mix, the haunting choral sections are showcased beautifully in the context of the live album, and really communicate a primal passion behind their music, leaving the listener somber, as they draw near the darkness. These moments of introspection give way to the rapturous cries of lead singer Nergal, as he scream and growls over the cacophony. It’s a dynamic ebb and flow of melody and chaos befitting of a live album.

It’s no surprise then, that the standout track is probably the premier showcase of this styling. “God = Dog” has found massive success in the genre with the studio version, and when boiled down to its most basic elements, it breathes all new life into the song.  Featuring a wide array of musical techniques, “God = Dog” is powerful arrangement worthy of the accolade.

What more can be said about a band like Behemoth that hasn’t already been said? They are one of the best in the industry, and “Live at Mada Vale” is an opportunity to hear them at their most unfiltered.

“Live at Maida Vale” is available at all digital platforms

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Behemoth, "Messe Noire"

 By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length (Live)

Date Released: 13/04/2018

Label: Nuclear Blast

The group's performances are frenzied, the production is sterling and with a crystal clear sound thoughout, this makes “Messe Noire” a real pleasure to experience

“Messe Noise” CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1. Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel (6:33)

2. Furor Divinus (3:21)

3. Messe Noire (4:41)

4. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer (6:20)

5. Amen (3:54)

6. The Satanist (6:35)

7. Ben Sahar (5:32)

8. In The Absence Ov Light (4:54)

9. O Father O Satan O Sun! (8:45)

The Review:

Now playing dates as part of Slayer's farewell tour, Poland's Behemoth could well be argued to be the heir apparent to the thrash kings' crown. While clearly the music is different, Behemoth's infernal songsmithing makes it a better fit than most. Paired with a long, ignoble history and you have a strong case to be made.

Although Behemoth has many touchstone albums to its credit, its tenth release, 2014's “The Satanist”, is easily near the top of its discography. It is the release from whence classics like "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" and "O Father, O Satan, O Sun" came. Moreover it was regarded by critics as a return to form after potentially uneven works just before. Behemoth's new album, “Messe Noire”, is, in fact, a live concert recording of “The Satanist” in full.

If you have never caught Behemoth live, do yourself a favor and watch some of the concerts – especially those in its native land – on YouTube. The group's frenzied performances are only matched by their enthusiastic audiences. “Messe Noire” captures Behemoth exceptionally well, even without the visuals.

From "Gabriel," the album's open, into the buzzsaw guitars of "Furor Divinus" and the title track, it is evident Behemoth is all in on the live aspect. The additional singers, symphonic elements and builds presented on “The Satanist” are replicated live and do not lose much luster on the audio version ("Messe Noire" has also been released on video format).

Since 1995's "Sventevith (Storming Near the Baltic)," Behemoth has cultivated a rabid fan base, one enthralled by its colorful imagery and history as well as its sound. Indeed, as the band's focal point, Adam "Nergal" Darski has a connection to these supporters that is uncommon even within metal. From his health difficulties – including a brief hiatus due to leukemia – and outspoken advocacy of Satanism, Nergal's intensely personal story is hewn from the cloth from which all the great rock music histories are cut. Where some bands prefer complete anonymity, Behemoth and Nergal's openness has proven the old maxim: people want something with which they can identify. You feel identification through "Messe Noire." The live version of "Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer" has such weight, as you hear the crowd toward its close on into "Amen."

The production on "Messe Noire" is sterling throughout. The sound quality is crystal clear and the audience noise never overwhelms the stage show. This makes songs like "The Satanist" and "O Father" a real pleasure to experience.  Chances are, Behemoth fans have already picked up this April release. However, if you're a metal devotee who has dug Behemoth for any length of time, you'll be well served to pick up "Messe Noire" in its audio or video formats.

“Messe Noise” is available here

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: God Dethroned - ‘The World Ablaze’

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 5/5/2017

Label: Metal Blade

If you’re a longtime fan like me, this album is everything you’d want and then some. ‘The World Ablaze’ is all of the best elements of the God Dethroned’s entire discography amalgamated into a single album.

‘The World Ablaze’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. A Call to Arms

2. Annihilation Crusade

3. The World Ablaze

4. On the Wrong Side of the Wire

5. Close to Victory

6. Konigsberg

7. Escape Across the Ice (The White Army)

8. Breathing Through Blood

9. Messina Ridge

10. The 11th Hour

The Review:

Please bear with me as I do this. I know reviews should never center around the person writing them, and as such, this won’t be a proper review. I will definitely get to the music, but with the album having already been out for more than a month now, and given other circumstances I’ll get into shortly; I want to explain why this album has the deep resonance with me that it does.

For metal fans over a certain age, getting turned on to a band via compilations was a pretty common occurrence. In this case, the compilation in question ‘Metal Blade’s ‘Deathmeister’ compilation, released in 1998. This comp was my first exposure to bands like Dark Funeral, Defleshed, Lord Belial and more, and all are bands I still listen to regularly.

The God Dethroned song featured on that comp was the title track from 1997’s classic ‘The Grand Grimoire’. It was absolutely ferocious. Combining Floridian death metal’s love for blazing, Slayer-loving tremolo with European death metal’s remarkable knack for melody, God Dethroned had a depth and range that I hadn’t really heard from a death metal band at that point. Before too long, the cassette I’d used to dub the comp for my Walkman was worn and warped from overuse, and God Dethroned was a big part of why that happened.

I’m grateful to have seen God Dethroned live on the ‘Death Metal Massacre 2000’ tour with Cannibal Corpse. Their set included songs from ‘The Grand Grimoire’ as well as their then new album ‘Bloody Blasphemy’. But it’s what happened prior to this show that leads me to essentially make this review about my experience and history with the band.

At the time of the show, I hadn’t yet turned 18 and didn’t have a car. My dad took me to the show and, as he often did, made sure to threaten my utter embarrassment at every turn by sticking around after dropping me off. He liked some metal, but only at a very surface, mainstream level. While I was waiting in line, he went to walk around and have a smoke. When he returned he explained that he’d happened to have a very quick chat with someone from one of the bands. That person turned out to be Henri from God Dethroned.

I can’t remember exactly what he said or what they talked about, other than him asking about what the name meant, and I remember feeling the earth crumbling beneath me and dread pounding through every vein in my body. But, to my surprise, my dad seemed to be happy with how the conversation went and even opted to stick around and listen to what he could from outside once the show started. From that point forward, God Dethroned was sort of his reference point for anything else I listened to:

“Oh, these guys aren’t as fast as God Dethroned.”

“This singer doesn’t have a powerful scream like the guy in God Dethroned.”

Every once in a while, even more than 15 years later, he’d ask about the band and what they were up to. He’d always bring them up as a way to mention him getting to talk to Henri. He was never one to pass up an opportunity to talk about something that made him sound cool, even if he’d talked about it before. As luck would have it, Dad had asked about God Dethroned in April, and I told him about the upcoming album, ‘The World Ablaze’, which was all he needed to launch into a conversation we’ve had dozens of times over the last 17 years.

At the end of May, my dad died of a heart attack brought on by long term health problems at the age of 64. At first, I was hesitant to listen to this album, for obvious reasons. But as time passed my apprehension gave way to something like warm nostalgia. As I went back and listened to the band’s earlier albums, I smiled to myself. I imagined the site of my painfully uncool dad talking to Henri, one of the great death metal vocalists of all time. What an absurd couple of minutes that must have been.

I know nothing about the afterlife, and I doubt there’s one at all. But if there is, I’ll be glad to tell him how good this album was, just to give him a reason to tell that old story again.

When I finally listened to ‘The World Ablaze’ for the first time since my dad’s death, that warm feeling washed over me, just as it had with the early albums. While I’ve enjoyed everything the band have put out—to varying degrees—the albums released after ‘Into The Lungs Of Hell’ felt like they were missing something. A minor “something”, but something nonetheless. With this album, they’ve gained all of it back in a big fucking way.

God Dethroned is at their best when they keep a balance between riveting viciousness and gut-wrenching melody, and this album hits both of these touchstones as well as one could hope. ‘The World Ablaze’ is an inspired work from a band at a new creative peak. All of the raw emotional energy of ‘The Grand Grimoire’ and ‘Bloody Blasphemy’ are present and strong. The infernal catchiness of ‘Ravenous’ and the added heft and sonic power of the band’s mid 2000s material is here as well, and it’s been improved after the band’s long break between albums.

If you’re a longtime fan like me, this album is everything you’d want and then some. ‘The World Ablaze’ is all of the best elements of the God Dethroned’s entire discography amalgamated into a single album. There’s a personal connection I have to this album that probably won’t exist for other people, but this is an album that stands proudly on its own musical merits.

“The World Ablaze’ is available digitally here and a CD/LP copy here.

Band info: Facebook || bandcamp

FFO: Necrophobic, Behemoth, Hail of Bullets, Unleashed

REVIEW: Schammasch - “The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite” (EP)

By: Conor O’Dea

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 09/06/2017

Label: Prosthetic Records

Schammasch have created something remarkable with this most recent artistic expression, sophisticated, complex and yet somehow, eminently accessible.  Get lost. It is worth your time to find a way out.

“The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). “Prologue”
2). “The Weighty Burden Of An Eternal Secret”
3). “Along The Road That Leads To Bedlam”
4). “These Tresses Are Sacred”
5). “May His Illusion Last Until Dawn’s Awakening”
6). “Chimerical Hope”
7). “Do Not Open Your Eyes”

The Review:

"May it please heaven that the reader, emboldened and having for the time being become as fierce as what he is reading, should, without being led astray, find his rugged and treacherous way across the desolate swamps of these sombre and poison-filled pages; for, unless he brings to his reading a rigorous logic and a tautness of mind equal at least to his wariness, the deadly emanations of this book will dissolve his soul as water does sugar. It is not right that everyone should savour this bitter fruit with impunity. Consequently, shrinking soul, turn on your heels and go back before penetrating further into such uncharted, perilous wastelands." Comte de Lautréamont, “Les Chants de Maldoror”

There can be only deep silence after the invocation of the triune. It is time to pause. An initiate, waiting, in the shadows, barely breathes, as the adept brings one deeply important ritual to a close. You know where you were left, but are unclear where the way could possibly open again. Ab initio, ab vacuo, a ritual begins, revitalized, innovative, and redacted: but only in the paths it wanders, not in the powers it invokes. Thunder, perfect mind.

Schammasch have created something remarkable with this most recent artistic expression, something that draws deeply and effectively on both the painterly and writerly roots of its inspiration. It is sophisticated, complex and yet it, somehow, it is eminently accessible. It is a sort of roman-de-clef, but it does not seek to intimidate, browbeat or baffle the listener with fabricated dissonance or obfuscatory elitism. It invites the listener to enter its mysteries and get profoundly lost within them. Schammasch here effectively create auditory and lyrical topographies that bend the common conventions of compositional and narrative structure in surreal ways. I am using surreal here in the sense of Magritte and Dali, both of whom illustrated Lautreamont's “The Lay of Maldoror”; it is a bending of reality, a reconfiguration of the real through symbolic interpolation. The six songs following the prologue mirror the Canto division of Lautreamont's poetic novel, a glimpse into the fin-de-siecle madness that performed this superlative Dada-like twist on both the” Divine Comedy” and “Paradise Lost”.

“May His Illusion Last until Dawn's Awakening” and “Chimerical Hope” are perhaps the most immediately 'moving' of these tracks, but as with all things Schammasch, this album should be taken as a whole: in contemplation, in mindful inebriety. Get lost. It is worth your time to find a way out.

"I am the silence that is incomprehensible and the idea whose remembrance is frequent.
I am the voice whose sound is manifold and the word whose appearance is multiple.
I am the utterance of my name"The Thunder, Perfect Mind

“The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite” is available here

FFO: Behemoth, Secrets of the Moon, Deathspell Omega, Triptykon

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Vader - "The Empire"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/11/2016

Label: Nuclear Blast

Death metal with a hefty dose of thrash sums up what Vader were and are about. This album has moments of steady rolling, thrash pacing and blast beats. Quite simply, this is an excellent Vader album.

“The Empire” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Angels of Steel (2:16)

2. Tempest (2:41)

3. Prayer to the God of War (2:47)

4. Iron Reign (4:37)

5. No Gravity (4:08)

6. Genocidius (2:59)

7. The Army-Geddon (4:10)

8. Feel My Pain (3:24)

9. Parabellum (2:28)

10. Send Me Back to Hell (3:32)

The Review:

Polish veterans Vader follow up the excellent “Tibi Et Igni” with this; “The Empire”. Death metal with a hefty dose of thrash sums up what Vader were and are about. This album has moments of steady rolling, thrash pacing and blast beats. Quite simply, this is an excellent Vader album. We all have our favourites, “De Profundis” or “Black to the Blind”... even the aforementioned last record they put out (mine, as it goes!). Rest assured, this album is up there with their best work.

The production is crystal clear and very precise. The drums in particular are superb; punchy and with a fine balance of high and low end. The vocal performance of Piotr throughout is excellent but to be fair, all band members are on top form here.

From the off, you know what you are getting. Stand outs? Well, opener “Angels of Steel” and “Iron Reign” really stand out for me, but you cannot argue with any of the ten tracks offered up to the gods of war here. I can see all of the tracks standing up well in the live arena (I saw them earlier this year with Overkill- they slayed). The songs are reassuringly concise- no fifteen minute epics here; you get short sharp shocks aplenty. Riffs, solos, leads... chugging passages. This is proper metal.

The album is strong from front to back with “Send Me Back to Hell” being every bit as immediate as the opener. Vader have created a very strong record here. If you like Vader, you will like this album. If you haven't heard them and are considering doing so, starting with this album and working backwards would be a fine move. If the later person is you, I envy you; I wish I was discovering this band again.

Vader have been in the game since the early eighties, they know how to deliver high quality metal and they do so by the (tank) shell full here. A tour de force of a modern death/thrash album. Buy it and then bang your head!

“The Empire” is available now

Band info: facebook

FFO: Morbid Angel, Slayer, Decapitated, Behemoth

REVIEW: Vader - "Iron Times" EP

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: EP
Date Released: 12/08/2016
Label: Nuclear Blast

‘Iron Times’ CD//DD track listing:

1. Parabellum (2:28)

2. Prayer To The God Of War (2:47)

3. Piesc I Stal (4:05)

4. Overkill (4:17)

The Review:

Vader, a classic Polish metal band need no introduction. Their thrashing death stylings are well known to most death heads and, as their recent tour with Overkill proved, they crossover well to a more thrash/traditional audience as well. I was somewhat surprised to hear that this EP leans firmly towards the thrash end of their output. Across the four tracks you could be forgiven for thinking you were hearing the latest US thrashers on the block.

Just listen to the opener “Parabellum” for proof. Hyper fast thrash beats, angular riffage... but with those blasts and snaking riffs that scream death metal at you (or growl it, perhaps). Similarly, “Prayer To The God Of War” finds the band in deadly form; fast and furious all the way. Neither of the first two tracks goes close to three minutes, so it is up to “Piesc I Stal” originally by Panzer X to raise the playing time and drop the tempo. What is it about? I don't know as I only speak English! It has a good rolling groove to it and some great lead work (as does the whole album) and marks a change of tack for the band. Great stuff.

This short and spiky EP ends with a cover of “Overkill" by Motorhead, and as expected the band deliver a fast and raucous version. A guitar is used instead of the bass for the well known intro, and the band play it straight thereafter. Still a classic, nearly 40 years after it was first unleashed. Four tracks: two ragers and two covers. A fine stop gap before the next album. Fans will want to check it out. Those new to the band could have a taste here.

‘Iron Times’ is available now

Band info:  facebook

RIYL: Morbid Angel, Decapitated, Hate, Behemoth

The Sludgelord Album Premiere - "In Absence" by Minarchist

By: Aaron Pickford

Like a cross  pollination  or the sharing or interchange of knowledge, ideas, for mutual enrichment Minarchist were formed.  The brain child of songwriter/guitarist/clean vocalist Connor McNamee, the band also features bassist/producer Nick Shaw (Black Crown Initiate) and harsh vocalist Jerry Martin (Alustrium), two bands of impeccable statue and pedigree, this new genetic constitution who hail from from Philadelphia, PA, play a style of modern prog metal that also brings in influences spanning the genre  such as Behemoth, Periphery, Opeth, Meshuggah and Gojira. The album is enriched even further still with guest guitar solos from Andy Thomas (Black Crown Initiate) and local musician Ethan McKenna. Having covered both bands over recent years, it was a no brainer when the band approaches us to host the album for your listening pleasure. 

Featuring artwork designed by the talented Alex Hofmann (Fallujah, Cypher Visual), get ready to subject yourselves to a flawless virtuosic prog metal apocalypse,   Minarchist's debut album “In Absence” is  an incredible achievement by anyone’s standard and you can check it out in full below and is available to buy tomorrow here

 “In Absence” track listing

1. In Absence of Air
2. Our Rose Garden
3. Threat of a Terrible Storm
4. Burn Down the Sky
5. Abandon
6. The Ecstasy of Dreams
7. In Absence of Fear

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Mantar - "Ode To The Flame" (Album Review)

By: Phil Weller

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 15/04/2016

Label: Nuclear Blast

Mantar don’t take prisoners, but one listen to “Ode To The Flame” will have you wanting to fall victim to their blackened boogie again and again.

“Ode To The Flame” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Carnal Rising (2:32)

2. Praise The Plague (4:20)

3. Era Borealis (4:00)

4. The Hint (5:02)

5. Born Reversed (3:27)

6. Oz (3:26)

7. I Omen (4:50)

8. Cross The Cross (4:41)

9. Schwanenstein (6:23)

10. Sundowning (5:14)

The Review:

If, by the emphatic clarion call chorus of “Era Bolearis”, Mantar's second full length album hasn't punctured your ears and stunned you into a weirdly invigorating awe, then those harshly hollered words will put that right. "This is Era Bolearis" screams guitarist/vocalist Hanno, with passion and anger boiling in his throat. For a band founded on a musical viscerealism which smashes black metal's smog draped atmospherics and rock n' roll's intrinsic shuffle and swing together and calls the consequent bloody mess its own, you feel the German duo have, staggeringly, one-upped themselves. This is a potent reminder as to why they have affirmed such a strong cult following, which includes the decision makers at their new label Nuclear Blast.

“Death By Burning” was a hugely praised debut, but “Ode To The Flame”, whose title continues both the incendiary semantics of its predecessor as well as its performances, may be darker and more threatening, but it never loses sight of the magic that made that record so damnably fun. For, as heavy as “Death By Burning” was, it wasn't all about fire and fury; beneath its mask was a lighter, more accessible side that made it more than just an aural assault. It's hard to describe what exactly that was, but suffice to say that, whatever it was that compulsively curled that smile on your face as it played out remains. The fact that their residing magic is so mysterious - its appearance omnipresent but always obscured - makes Mantar even more enticing.

They masterfully blast through the cancerous, blackened boogie of “Praise The Plague”, its latter stages joyously virile, while “Born Reversed” sounds like Nergal drowning Down in the swamp from whence they came. They stand as two distinct highlights which, for a band self-described as ‘black metal doom punk’, prove that sometimes the strangest combinations of flavours make the most memorable of dishes.

“Oz” leans much closer to their black metal side, building a punk infused dance ability into the foundations of shadowy tremolo guitar work. Here, and on “The Hint” they continue to express intelligence through dynamics, where the noise and the chaos will drop solely to lowly, gunshot toms, razor sharp vocals slicing the gaps.

Hanno mutates his guitar into a chastising organ on the sacrilegious “I Omen”, and “Cross To Cross” portrays rampant riffwork as a lawnmower possessed.  “Sundowning” closes the album, ensuing apocalyptic results through chugs, explosions and a sound that, as furious as it may be, couldn’t be more compelling.

Mantar don’t take prisoners, but one listen to “Ode To The Flame” will have you wanting to fall victim to their blackened boogie again and again.

“Ode to the Flame” is available now

Band info: facebook

Nile - 'What Should Not be Unearthed’ (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 28/08/2015

Label: Nuclear Blast

This is the death metal equivalent of the Olympics- faster, bigger and the pinnacle of human endeavour in the chosen form.  Suffice it to say that this is a superb technical/brutal death metal album of towering musicality. I am now a confirmed fan and will seek out their other records for sure. What an achievement this record is- death metal and then some.

‘What Should Not be Unearthed’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Call to Destruction (5:45)

2. Negating The Abominable Coils Of Apep (4:14)

3. Liber Stellae - Rubaeae  3:48)

4. In The Name Of Amun (6:49)

5. What Should Not Be Unearthed (6:58)

6. Evil To Cast Out Evil (5:37)

7. Age Of Famine (4:11)

8. Ushabti Reanimator (1:30)

9. Rape Of The Black Earth  (4:35)

10. To Walk Forth From Flames Unscathed (6:36)

Nile is:

Karl Sanders | guitars, vocals

Dallas Toler-Wade | guitars, vocals

George Kollias | drums

The Review:

Nile are one of death metal's biggest names and can justifiably be described as having progressed and even reinvigorating the genre. They play technical yet very brutal death metal- hyper fast, Egyptian themed, blasting death. All the ingredients are there. Since the late 90's to the present day they have been leading the way in their own niche and affecting the greater world of death metal as a result. So why have I never got into them?!?! I have no idea, is the short answer. I have “In Their Darkened Shrines” and while I have enjoyed it on occasion, I just never ventured further into their discography. A foolish move, as this latest opus makes perfectly clear. From the opening of ‘Call To Destruction’ it is clear that this is a band at the top of their game. My initial thoughts? Fuck. George Kollias is FAST! The songs are not catchy, exactly (ha!) but is a showcase of what the band does best; Egyptian themed death metal of impossible dexterity.

‘Negating The Abominable Coils of Apep’ does the same again- alternating between half intelligible death growls and impossibly low grunt vocals. There are so many time changes and percussive shifts that it is difficult to follow- even for someone who listens to a lot of death metal. Karl Sanders' riffs are finger breakingly complex- so many twists and turns and often combing rhythm and melody (no easy feat, I'm sure). There is also a tambourine overdub on this one- perhaps showing that Nile go for production as well as brutality.

‘Liber Stellae- Rubaeae’ sees Kollias blasting at a speed most won't reach and the riffs both chugging and screaming away. This is the death metal equivalent of the Olympics- faster, bigger and the pinnacle of human endeavour in the chosen form. Ironically, I suppose this is akin to death metal on steroids. The rolling groove comes into play here as Sanders intones “I feel nothing because I am nothing”. It is intense stuff.

‘In The Name of Amun’ starts atmospherically and really brings the Middle Eastern vibe. It is a creepy and cold start to what becomes a frenzied hurricane of blasts and riffs. Again, the drums are incredibly quick. Even twenty years ago, the speeds reached (comfortably) here would be unthinkable. I really cannot praise Kollias enough for his abilities. Remember, in 1980, Motorhead were the fastest band in the world. In 1983, Metallica were. Slayer kicked things up a few notches before Napalm Death hovered into view and then blasts became fairly de rigeur for many death and grindcore bands. Black metal did not push that envelope any further, really, with the exception of the very speedy Hellhammer in Mayhem. With Kollias, though, there is a drummer that can make even Pete Sandoval's 90's pacing appear pedestrian- and Pete “The Feet” was considered pretty untouchable at the time.

‘What Should Not Be Unearthed’ takes us to the half way point- the songs range from the approximately four minute mark to around the seven minute mark, so ten tracks will not be short changing you. Such is the bewildering nature of the material here, that a little goes a very long way indeed.

‘Evil to Cast Out Evil’ features a great pace to start and nice line in riffing too. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album- being as it is a little easier to follow and rings the changes. Naturally, the pace picks up just shy of the two minute mark. There is a lovely time shift again before three minutes rolls around and the strong refrain from earlier in the track is repeated. This is cracking stuff and really ushers in the second half of the album superbly.

‘Age of Famine’ has a creepingly evil feel to it- really slow and nasty and again this change marks its card as a stand out and keeps the listener interested as the album progresses. Again, I really liked this one as it has all the ingredients of great death metal. ‘Ushabti Reanimator’ is a one and a half minute instrumental piece featuring lush acoustic sounds and eerie atmospherics. Again, the album starts to mark itself out as a record of two personalities; impossible speed and dexterity showcased alongside atmospherics and time changes. Naturally, after the preceding experimentation, ‘Rape of The Black Earth’ pins its colours to the mast with speed, aggression and brutality.

‘To Walk Forth From Flames Unscathed’ is a six and a half minute closer and showcase of the band's formidable skills. It will get your head banging that is for sure, as well as confounding you with time changes. The track twists, turns and rolls as it progresses. The closing one minute plus is a superb outro as well- rolling pit orientated neck snapping stuff! It is an interesting undertaking to review this record- as I have only heard one other Nile album, I have no idea how it stacks up against the rest of their discography. Suffice it to say that this is a superb technical/brutal death metal album of towering musicality. I am now a confirmed fan and will seek out their other records for sure. What an achievement this record is- death metal and then some.

‘What Should Not be Unearthed’ is available here

FFO: Behemoth, Suffocation, Origin, Melechesh

Band info: official | facebook