Inferno of Sacred Destruction

They simply don't. It's strange. I find myself going back to this record every once in a while whenever boredom strikes. To this date, what is actually appealing about Inferno of Sacred Destruction remains somewhat of a mystery to me. Is it brutality alone that makes me keep returning to this album? Honestly speaking, there is nothing remarkable about the performance when it comes to the overall instrumentation. The riffs are singular, monochromatic feats that are either played forward or backward, or a variation of the two.

Marksmanship is obviously performed with utmost fury. Reckless brutality in full display, with flagrant disregard for harmonious melodies. No. This is not a go-to record for beautiful melodies. The mood is always permeated with absolute carnage from the get go, like a freight train that goes nowhere. The drums are dominant at all times, with relentless battery on the snare. The drum fills are unimaginative. However, as lackluster as it seems, this somewhat gives me a sense of mind-numbing satisfaction. Which is weird. I usually am very picky when it comes to this type of barbaric warring black death hybrid, choosing only those who occupy the chaotic dimensions of controlled chaos with the likes of Archgoat, Ogdru Jahad, Heresiarch, Adversarial, just to name a few. Here however, Black Witchery unleashes more of the same assault that we have all heard before. The strategy remains the same. Rhythmic structure, if one were to dissect apart each and every note, is not much different from their previous works. It is the band's ability to convince listeners in a trance like state that their music varies from one record to another that sets them apart from the rest.

Take for example the title track 'Inferno of Sacred Destruction'. The band slows down just a little bit. The rest is business as usual. 'Kingdom Against Kingdom', originally recorded by Conqueror (also a favorite of mine), is nailed so well. Being quite short in running time, the latter fades out way too soon as in the original recording, leaving you off balance from the steady momentum. Everything comes to a close with 'Ascension of the Obscure Moon', which I think ends on a somewhat positive note.

I don't really want to talk about the intros including 'Sepulchral Witchcraft'. There isn't anything worth mentioning about those three tracks anyway.

Although Tregenda, born Steven Clark Childers, has left this planet six years after this album was released, I still feel that his samey riffing is the backbone of Black Witchery. The hypnotic, savagely grotesque riffs have never been the strongest point for this band. For what it lacks for inventive rhythms, they more than make it up for in Impurath's uncompromising vocal performance. The screams are vicious but very natural sounding. You can hear his growls coming straight from the throat, possessed by the devil himself. Obviously, his performance here is a step down from Desecration of the Holy Kingdom. Try and listen to what I considered to be Black Witchery signature anthem 'Command of the Iron Baphomet', and then compare his vocals with on here. Impurath certainly slays on that album. This time around, his vocals are tame in comparison but no less sadistic from when he first started out on the debut.

This album is recommended to metal fans who want to punish themselves in aural flagellation. Just don't expect anything ground breaking. Certainly not an album of the year material. There is nothing new with the lyrics, nothing that have been said by millions of other bands a million different ways before. But hey, this is Black Witchery. They truly don't give a flying fuck about what haters have to say. Packaging wise, I only managed to get my hands on the jewelcase version after I stopped hunting for the digibook format ever since my Cult of Fire cds were confiscated by local Customs and Excise Department (A big fuck you to these motherfucking hypocrites!! This country is going to hell and so are you!). Anyway, the artwork in the booklet is super dope. Well, expect no less when Sickness 666 is carving those images into your mind. His artwork has adorned the booklets of most Impiety's releases, as well fellow countrymen Draconis Infernum and Infernal Execrator along with Mantak from Sabah. If you are into perverted depictions of un-angelic profanity, then images of seraphs being raped again and again should do you no wrong.

The DVD part is short and sweet. Black Witchery performed a live ritual in Helsinki with seven hymns that are mostly fan favorite. The sound quality is quite good as well. Though I wish there would be more bonus materials, the concert sits comfortably as an extra nugget for this record.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome the new release from Floridian death-blacksters. Or black-deathsters. Or whatever you want to call them. The unholy power-trio of Black Witchery has returned with their first studio recording since 5 years and they’re here to claim throne of the infamous Ross Bay Cult since “Inferno Of Sacred Destruction” contains their most crushing sound ever.

Albeit runs at only 24 minutes, the new album provides blackmetal at the highest intensity with Tregenda’s guitars building a granite wall of grinding riffs, whereas Imperial on bass and Vaz on drums give enough depth and volume to simply destroy your ears. And for a final touch, you get vocals which although harsh and hateful, they can be distinguished and sung-along. A fact that certainly pleases me.

However, none of the above would matter if “Inferno...” wasn’t full of songs, where, under their pure noise, with distinct structure, dynamics and a vagrant feeling which could go even go back to mighty Motorhead. The opener “Holocaustic Church Devastation” and the title can easily prove this, where “Ascension of the Obscure Moon” that closes the album is almost epic! So here you go, it’s 24 minutes of non-stop sonic attack and to add little spice, there’s a Conqueror cover, a live DVD from a 2009 show in Helsinki and some lyrical help from members of Hellenic blacksters Goatvomit.

So, no more words are needed, the three guys -who have been together since 1997- are back in business and it’s the best you can get if you’re a follower of Ross Bay scene. All praise the goat!

Originally written for:

http://theantifleshnimbus.wordpress.com/

It’s no secret by now that I’m a fan of things that are unapologetically over-the-top. I can’t think of a modern metal band that embodies this more spectacularly than Florida’s Black Witchery. Everything about the trio, from their Christ-beheading, angel-raping album art to their death-shrouded, graveyard-skulking band photos, to the unrelenting, monochromatic racket that is their music, positively screams OTT. What is it that makes this so appealing? I’ve always liked bands that put a lot of thought into all aspects of their presentation, bands that are sonically, lyrically and visually cohesive, an approach which in turn typically leads to bands being labeled OTT. Black Witchery takes this concept to its illogical conclusion (see also Portal and Gorgoroth for other prime examples). Music this crude, filthy and evil simply wouldn’t have the same effect if it came in a discreet brown wrapper and was being played by dudes in jeans and t-shirts. Indeed, the awful beauty of Black Witchery is the cruel totality of their assault, blasphemy as sensory overload.

From the get-go, Black Witchery’s intent has been crystal clear. Smash the skull of the listener with the hammer of Satan. The purity of their approach is admirable, an unwavering dedication to battering the listener into submission while worshipping at the altars of Blasphemy and (early) Beherit. Nothing at all has changed on their third full-length, Inferno of Sacred Destruction. Clocking in at less than twenty-five minutes, the album is the sonic equivalent of blitzkrieg. Wikipedia describes blitzkrieg (or “lightning war”) as follows:

"Concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the latter is broken, proceeding without regard to its flank. Through constant motion, the blitzkrieg attempts to keep its enemy off-balance, making it difficult to respond effectively at any given point before the front has already moved on."

What might me be truly overwhelming about Black Witchery’s satanic salvo is the fact that it’s the product of only three men, rather than an army. Most bands with twice as many members would have difficulty invoking the level of musical devastation that Inferno of Sacred Destruction is positively crackling with. But it isn’t about the number of guitars, amps or bodies in the band. It’s about conviction. Impurath, Tregenda and Vaz are positively possessed by their music, three metal diehards taking the power trio format to frightening levels of extremity; no melody, no variation, no fucking mercy.

Of course, some might consider these same traits to be Black Witchery’s weaknesses. If you’re coming to Inferno of Sacred Destruction looking for things like catchiness or songs you can tell apart, you’re missing the point completely. Inferno of Sacred Destruction is not about these things. The raw, ugly monotony of the music at first overpowers, but eventually becomes hypnotic, a trance of sonic ultraviolence that drags you into Black Witchery’s world of hate and death and damnation. By the time you’re fully aware of what’s happening it’s over, just as quickly as it began.

Originally written for http://thatshowkidsdie.com

There are good albums, there are great albums, there are fantastic albums, then there is BLACK WITCHERY.

Okay, to start with, this album is only 20 something minutes long. There was a 5 year break between the previous one and this one and, honestly, nothing changed at all since then. If anything, music became even more monotonous. No single new riff. Hell, there are almost no melodies here. It's still the same Black Death jackhammer fest as it was back then. The drumming is as monotonous as ever. The guitars are buzzing and the sound is very far from the (so popular today) Abyss or Necromorbus polishedness, so it's hard to distinguish separate notes from this mess. As I mentioned, it's only 20 minutes long, but even a minute of this is enough for every good citizen to turn this off and throw the CD into a garbage disposal unit. I imagine, christians catch serious nausea from this music, pregnant women give birth to stillborn babies, while children, that are already born, receive very late term abortions. The lyrics are simple and, in general, they retell the same old story in the same very words, as if the person, who wrote them, has a very limited vocabulary and doesn't plan to learn anything new any time soon. A traditional cover of Conqueror finishes the picture. An ambient song amidst the massacre briefly changes the pace, but not for long, so who cares. The cover has absolutely no new ideas to it whatsoever. Just a bunch of disgusting demon creatures and a burning church in a traditional Chris Moyen style. We all saw and heard it all a thousand of times already.

In short, it's Black Metal AS IT SHOULD BE. My absolutely favourite album of 2010 and an absolute MUST for those of you, who values real substance over worthless image wankery.

For exquisite perverts, the normal non-exclusive edition features a bonus DVD, so you could see this hell live on your TV/computer screens.

Originally written for From the Pulpits of Abomination blog: http://from-the-pulpits.blogspot.com/

I bought Black Witchery's Inferno of Sacred Destruction by accident, after seeing it and thinking, "I know there was a band with 'witch' in their name with a new album I wanted to check out." Call it a happy accident.

Black Witchery is a Floridian band that's sometimes been called "war metal", an ill-defined tag that generally means thrashy, ugly, unrelentingly aggressive black metal. The tag is appropriate. Every track on here is fast and aggressive; the title track is the slowest one on here, but even it couldn't be considered mid-paced. And the music is definitely ugly. Think early Norwegian black metal heard coming up from a crypt, with all the echo and deeper register you'd expect from the depths of the tomb. The vocals are a deeper version of a black metal rasp, along with the occasional inhuman gurgle, and all the instruments play a whole lot of notes, real fast.

To go along with the evil sound, they've got the imagery and song titles (probably lyrics too, if you can discern them--I caught something about tearing an angel apart). They would probably be offensive if they weren't hilariously over the top. Highlights of the album like "Holocaustic Church Devastation" and "Barbarism Domination" are perfect examples of their Dethklok-esque sense of humor. And when you see their band picture on Metal Archives it becomes clear these guys have it down even better than the creators of that show.

To break up the aggression, they've wisely included some eerie ambient sections and "Sepulchral Witchcraft", which is little more than ambient. This leaves you with only 7 short songs, including a cover. Even including the intro and interludes, the total runtime is just over 22 minutes. And they call it a full-length, which to me seems like an outright lie. In my opinion, anything shorter than 30 minutes is an EP, regardless of the standards of the particular band or subgenre. But the length is a good thing, as I could see this becoming tiresome after much longer. It doesn't have a chance to get old. On the downside, there's only one solo (a freaky atonal one on the closing track). And they curiously end some of the tracks with a fadeout, something that seems out of place with these short, punchy songs.

The Verdict: This is an entertaining EP (by any other name), and I think these guys need to get hired to work on a spinoff to Metalocalypse. If you're looking for something completely evil-sounding and aggressive, but doesn't take itself too seriously, I would recommend it if you could get it at an EP price.

originally written for http://fullmetalattorney.blogspot.com/

There are few collectives of Christ trampling individuals here in the States that can quite match the level of miserable power being manifest through the recordings of Black Witchery, the Florida band responsible for such sacrilege as 2005's Upheaval of Satanic Might. However, I'm afraid their level of caustic, narrow, unrelenting aggression does come at a cost here, as there are almost no dynamics here aside from those of planting your skull under their heathen boots and then crushing, crushing, crushing, their bloated, hostile weight seeping through your cranium and making paste of the soft, pinkish contents that may or may not be contained within.

Yes, Inferno of Sacred Destruction is predictable, a one trick pony if you will, but a nightmare steed nonetheless that peppers its bleak, "Intromancy" or "Sepulchral Witchcraft" interludes with carnal sewage the likes of "Holocaustic Church Devastation", "Antichrist Order of Holy Death", and "Kingdom Against Kingdom". No, this is not a bunch of guys you want to drink egg nog and sing Christmas carols with. Their godless tumult would not only provide an instant ticket to the space below purgatory, but a season's fucking pass to the Damned Soul Olympics. Incredibly oppressive, raw guitars bludgeon over noisy, warlike drums while Impurath's hate is poured free like a conflagration of concrete, and at best you're going to get a number like "Ascension of the Obscure Moon", the unforgiving 4 minute closer which sounds remarkably similar to the rest of the contents.

Sadly, while I can appreciate the band's charnel onslaught, the riffs here simply did nothing for me, bludgeoning along like the very primacy of chaos from which this genre once originated, but never once configuring into hooks that are worth a damn. Thus, you are left with only the bludgeoning atmosphere provoked through their mesh of instruments and torn throats, and I found myself drifting away after even a few minutes. The album's pretty short, only about 22 minutes, so it never really becomes boring, but it's difficult to pay it much thought when you are sure nothing titillating is hovering at the edge of perception. That said, I don't really have anything negative to say. If you appreciate black metal at its most barbaric and primitive, and seek nothing but the affectations of loathing and treachery that this band revel in, or the Osmose and Hells Headbangers imprints in general, then it's not exactly a waste of space.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com