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Barathrum > Infernal > Reviews
Barathrum - Infernal

I'm the Blasphemer; In the name of Satan! - 90%

kybernetic, October 13th, 2009

Pure, blasphemous rage, long sweeping compositions and an atmospheric doom tempo are all ways to describe Infernal by Barathrum. However, this album cannot, of course, be summed up in a single sentence. Most albums can’t, but this one especially. This album is massive, and long, totaling one hour and five minutes to be exact. For a band to create such a long album without it becoming stale, they must have emotion and passion. Barathrum most certainly fit into this category. Infernal is possibly one of the best black metal albums I’ve heard, whilst not actually being pure black metal, as they do possess quite a bit of doom influences. I would say the most evident of this doom influence I speak of would have to be the tempo that is set, which is usually crawling along at slow to mid-pace.

Another fantastic and stunning aspect to Infernal is the exquisite and memorable riffs. Oh, the riffs are something to behold, aggressive, extremely heavy, yet with melody all at the same time. Such a feature seems to be a Finnish gift, as it is apparent in many bands from this wondrous land. Take for instance “The Blasphemer”, such a brutal and heavy riff repeating throughout this song, dirty and gritty, and bass low. It must be noted, however, that I do believe Barathrum play with two basses. Hell, maybe they even play with three, but I doubt it. Regardless, this is a unique aspect that Barathrum utilizes with great skill, which is why their riffs probably appear so heavy and brutal, I’m sure. There is always a deep rumble apparent throughout “The Blasphemer”, as well as many of their other songs. This creates a very thick and muddy sound, full of organic life. Their rhythm section is certainly the dominant force on the album, and often has a bouncy, tangy tone to it. The songs on Infernal are usually also dominated by a particular unique main riff that is played throughout, without a lot of variation. However, it never gets too repetitive because most of the songs (all but two) are of about average length. The last song being nearly 15 of the 65 minutes, and I also found this song to be a little bit of a filler due to its extended length, but really no full-length has to be 65 minutes, so I suppose it is up to the listener. I can say that I have only listened to the last track once in full. Regardless, it is still impressive that Barathrum had enough ideas to pull of a 65 minute album, not something that is regularly achieved with success by many bands, yet they’ve done it multiple times.

The vocals of Infernal are fantastic, often sick and twisted. The main vocal style is done in a medium to high raspy shriek. However, the vocals do have a bit of variety thrown in, as there are some clean vocals for brief periods on several different occasions. There are often multiple vocals going on at once, usually varying rasps at different volumes, to give kind of a hellish atmosphere. The varying vocal styles are obvious on the track “Leaving the World of Mortals”, where there is contrasting between cleaner vocals and a black raspy style. My favorite vocal performance and lyrics though are on the song “The Blasphemer”, due to the memorable refrain and dynamics of his voice and uncomfortably, yet satisfying blasphemous lyrics.

The drumming is executed very well, with great dynamics and intriguing variations in both speed and style. The drumming is often plodding along at a mid-paced tempo, just pummeling the audience with bombastic and heavy bass drum and snare combos. There are very little to no blasting done by the drummer on Infernal. As I’ve said in previous reviews, I care little for blasting, as I find it to be more of a distraction than anything else. However, blasting certainly can be used to put emphasis on a particular part of a song, but if it is generally constant, like what might be found on every Hate Eternal album (at least the Derek Roddy albums), it starts to become too overly commanding, distracting and well just down right annoying. The drumming certainly adds a lot of character to each song on Infernal, however, and isn’t just a backbone to the rhythm. There are many varying beats to be found on Infernal, with unique fills and rolls as well. The drummer also uses a fair amount of double bass patterns, but only during the faster sections on the album.

To conclude, I simply love this album for its gritty, deep rhythmic bass patterns, memorable and catchy riffing, and evil, blasphemous, and aggressive atmosphere. I really only have one complaint about this album, which is the overly long closing track. I don’t think the closing track is bad at all, but certainly not a song that needed to go on for nearly 15 minutes. Regardless, if you are looking for mid-paced black metal with a warmer, deep and thick sound, with doom influences, this album is exactly what you need. Hopefully this album will have a reissue in its future sometime soon. Highly recommended.

III: Ritualism in its blackest rite - 90%

Byrgan, December 30th, 2008

The previous full length "Eerie" and this recording are along the same lines of focus and identity. The primitive, crushing, blood-draining, slow and mid-paced music is intact. "Infernal" is the equivalent of ritualistic practices carried over to black metal music, and then accomplished with the band's esoteric knack for an unconventional brand of ingredients that very few could pull off effectively. The patterns are here, the symmetry, and the atmosphere of end-to-end walls covered with obscure hand-drawn occult designs, as the room is placement for dim-lit reading over dusty, thick, obscure hardbacks, with readily endless, discolored, waiting mounds in the background.

Barathrum prepare by fitting similar gloves over spiked finger-tips, operating the controls with a hideous mutated monstrosity known as a hand that directs, points and gestures the song writing. And, yet, Barathrum are still up to wicked scheming, because centimeter by centimeter of its cover is exposed, causing the wandering mind to make unguessable assumptions until the sand has laid to rest its final grains and the underlying Thing is revealed in its entirety. This is the pace that "Infernal" moves at, bringing out thick and somewhat obscured guitar-bass combos—having the guitars just as thick and the bass just as distorted. The basicness is here in their song writing, not extending past the upper region of the neck or below, which makes deep notes run the gamut. Infernus, who played bass on the first two full lengths, left after this recording, almost like a little piece of the disgusting aura that the band had in their early days slowly dissipated with each successive release after his departure. The main vocals bring out a grab-you-by-the-throat demeanor and ferocity, using a menacing growl and raspy alterations combined with an abundance of effects on top. The clean vocals are here and are a great addition. These can be used as a narrative feature, or more of a chanting effect in the background—which is something like a melancholic, higher toned off-key melody that doesn't stray far with alternating notes. It can sound like a few layers of voices are added together to create this kind of on-going chain when one of them takes a breath.

The production is a little mismatched with "Infernal." This has the guitars a little faint from the recording quality being so deep and fuzzy; the drums are somewhat blended at times, even with the snare drum sort of higher toned, but even with that said, it still has the potential to get dominated by all of the effects and layered instruments combined. During certain areas, there are various sound effects littered about: some might be unguessable and others might be more obvious, but still fitting to the growing beast that this recording turns out to be. The vocals are the loudest aspect in the mix, which can give this following-along power when Sova decides to reign his terror overtop. All of the combined results in the volume knob having to be cranked beyond normal. This isn't as minimalist as "Hailstorm," yet a slight downstep from the instruments being more prominent and separated on "Eerie."

Barathrum managed to create another reputable recording, one that can actually exceed the amount of time equal to that of at least two normal albums. There are two tracks that when combined together add up to 25 minutes, so the amount of playing time and atmosphere doesn't dwindle very easily. I wouldn't say that it is entirely a concept album, meaning in this case that you have to be in an utmost mood or have at-ready focus to listen to it like "Hailstorm," or that its directness is too directed. In other words, you can have some satisfaction by putting on a few tracks for whatever ritual you're performing, and still have time to catch the train back home—you know, the normal stuff. What helps aid re-listens is that since the overall pace is structured with mid-sections, it can create plenty of bobs with your head due a side that is catchy to listen to as well as luster towards with a satisfying darkness and repulsion. Between all of the experimentation, that concrete ounce of musicianship that reels out and hooks in your ears is here. It's not an easy album to dissect, and that's just the magic of it: it can grow and result in various experiences at different times of putting it on due to the band giving us plenty to work with. The group draws out another unique black metal album that is unfortunately, at this point anyway, one of the hardest to find in the Barathrum discography. Still, keep both eyes out for this one.

Infernal Indeed ! - 95%

The_Hollow_One, December 16th, 2004

This whole album is permeated with such a solemn power that its enormous 65 minutes length is brought over in an outstanding and impressive way. Almost every song has, as barathrum's always do, a redundant heavy theme taken over until it pierces your ears. Anyway this does not mean it's boring, not at all! These songs are as usual really powerful in rhythm and the voice, sometimes harsh and other times distant and gloomy, keeps you from being eventually bored. Among Barathrum releases, Infernal stands highest for its ritual paces and lyrical themes, very evocative and, by all means, infernal.

The Night of The Demon Lord - after an atmospheric suggestive intro, you're fiercely kicked into the song, by having immediately presented the whole theme, followed by a great lyric, which could honestly remind you a real troop marshalling; the recurrent blasts of thunder add even more dreadful weight to the song overall. -The battle setup-
The Blasphemer - here's another type of barathrum song: the fast one with general occult lyrics; this is by all means worthy of the album's qualities, even if it may be perceived as an unrequested break in the general war theme.
Which quickly returns with Warmetal - another blasting but yet eerie song, with minimal lyrics of occult praising to the god of great war. -The dark invocation-
The blast carries on with Deliver a Battle - the heavy pacing self dedicated hymn of the army, sung to grant high morale and iron hearts under the destructive surge of battle. -The battle hymn-
Death is Saviour - this is a more ritual and slow song, dedicated to the warriors who will be falling, and surely they will, for their life is but destruction and chaos. -The infernal trooper-
Leaving the World of Mortals - after a long cycle through the song theme, representing the infinity of moments before death, the soldier waves forth, towards his glorious destiny among fallen and victorious comrades. His mission is achieved and destruction is brought on this land. -The last breath, victorious-
Deadmarch - an amazing example of what can a really heavy song be; not for a single second would you be annoyed by this wicked war march, as eternal hate and rage spread along with music. The finest touch of darkness is the distant voiceover (which right now reminds me of Sahttan Juoiggus) and the bell tolls. My highlight in this album. -The great walk towards eternity-
Ethereal Guest - here's a more old-styled song, as barathrum show sounds well known in previous albums; the scene is taken by a midly-paced riff which is only support for the rhytm and vocals who do the carryover. We assist at the summoning of infernal warriors, who will be commanded by the fierce warrior reborn from hell. -On Earth Again-
Immortal Warrior - this goes on with the same spirit, a declaration of hate and a promise of death and damnation. The infernal army walks the lands in a destructive urge and we're taken along by the final drilling beat. -Destruction of mankind-
Demon Est Deus Inversus - we're at the final steps of the theme: the demon warrior revels in the dark glory of his new form and he's lying deep in thoughts about the future of this devestated world, which is nothing but a new part of his infernal homeland. -Hell out of Earth-
Infernal - All is complete. The dark master moved his puppets in life, and again in death, to achieve the final annihilation: everything that remains is hell. This final song, kept long until you're forced to be part of it, is infernal indeed: the mix of heavy-paced rhytm, eerie murmurs, tormended screaming voices and the constant "Infernal" repeated to insanity; listen to it inverted. I don't mention this as a highlight because it's so great that it's outstanding: for this alone I'd give a 101! -Infernal-

On the overall, i strongly recommend you to hear this; you'll find yourself entangled in a magnificent scene of destruction and evil, like i rarely found outside barathrum's production.

BARATHRUM delivers a battle! - 97%

hyalmalindele, November 5th, 2003

Both bombastic and barbaric, and with a force of delivery that matches the brutal conviction with which it's performed, this third album of BARATHRUM is in many respects the pinnacle of their achievements, however recently I have heard it yet. I still consider ‘Eerie’ to be my favourite so far, since it's had time to really sink in and become a familiar return-listen. It's a shame that this is scarce to be found at this point, but a future repress seems likely on Barbarian Wrath, in addition to the double-vinyl version still pending from MFH. One thing I must point out about this era of BARATHRUM is that the music has such a supremely powerful vibe that it completely absorbs for the entire duration of the lengthy album. I can think of only a handful of acts that were ever able to achieve so much with seemingly (deceptively so) simple style and song structure. This release really accentuates the fact about black metal... that the real genuine stuff isn't concerned over mindless technical or superfluous melodic masturbations, but is just focused on heavy metal and really plays from the heart of a dark soul, filthy and tough, raw, abrasive, brutal, sarcastic, and Evil! Like this, all real black metal spits and shits in the face of institution, piety, and moral. I tend not to offer analyses of individual tracks on albums I review, but I must make a special mention of the final and "title" track ‘Infernal’. This near-15-minute climax brings the album over the one hour mark, and was the best selection for the final song, because it builds up to such an exciting rage that just keeps pounding out in a repetitive but evolving way. The anthropic shouts and wails and cries all boil into a huge billowing cloud of pain and destruction... this song is dangerous, so beware if you're weak of heart or unprepared!