Black Putrescence of Evil

If you expect clean, Pro-Tooled death/black metal, this is not for you. What you get is raw, bestial black/death/war metal. If you’ve heard Teitanblood’s “Seven Chalices,” you have an idea of what this sounds like. If you haven’t, go buy that album first. “Black Putrescence” is not as godly as that slab, but it does offer some exceptional metal for fans of bestial BM/DM ala Blasphemy, Proclamation, and Morbosidad. If that is your cup of tea, read on.

The first six tracks are the entirety of the "Genocide Chants to Apolokian Dawn" demo. Here the sound quality is exceptionally lo-fi, and the songwriting somewhat amateurish, but the band is still in domineering form. This is vicious black/death that manages to have atmosphere while remaining brutal. There is a decided emphasis on the drums, as is usually the case with war/bestial metal bands. The percussion, laid down by "J", is quite monolithic, suitably heavy and blasting, with lots of ride/china cymbal work. Vocalist/bassist/guitarist NSK fills up the remainder of the sonic space. Riffs here are twisted, atmospheric things that call to mind the earlier works of Morbid Angel and Incantation, but wrapped in a buzzier, blacker kind of distortion one finds in black metal. If you prefer edgy, idiosyncratic, and above all RAW sounding guitars, you’ll definitely enjoy this. NSK's mid range, croaking vocals recall both old school death metal and Beherit's Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance. The sum of all these elements is some quality blackened death metal.

Tracks 7 and 8 come from the split EP with Necros Christos. As good as “Genocide Chants” was, these tracks showcase a huge improvement in both songwriting and production. One can still hear the relentless pounding of the drums, but the guitars sound sharper and clearer, while maintaining that amazing raw edge. Basically, these tracks take what was good about the demo and amplify it. Still not mindblowing, but high quality regardless.

The ninth and final track, “Infernal Abomination of Death” is worth the price of admission alone. Opening with foreboding feedback couple with backwards guitar and cymbal, the track builds in intensity while maintaining an utterly evil atmosphere. Eventually, an eruption of thick guitar and drums pounds the listener. The track is not as fast as some of the earlier songs, more in the Incantation tempo, but this serves to highlight the dark atmosphere so crucial to this type of metal. Also worth noting, on this track, NSK’s vocals are vastly improved, deeper, gruffer and generally more aggressive. Top it off with some insane atonal soloing, and you have a track to rival any in the war metal catalog.

Ultimately, this is a fine slab of black/death metal. It isn’t as good as “Seven Chalices” but does hint at the greatness that Teitanblood would later achieve. Mandatory for Teitanblood fans, as well as war metal enthusiasts everywhere. Ave!