Order of Doom

Time for some total bunker and sonic annihilation! Why? Well, demos like this one do sound like recorded in a bunker or fuckin catacomb hehe! But seriously now. Here is a second demo of Polish deathsquadron called Bestial Raids. And I am sure that many will know this band nowadays, as they’ve released a couple of excellent albums through Nuclear War Now! and gained some recognition in the worldwide black / death metal scene. More so, Bestial Raids played some very crucial gigs, like the NWN! Fest. So definitely this name should be known to the maniacs of the extreme music! Here is their demo titled “Order of Doom”. I also should have the previous demo CDR “Necrowar Holocaust” (what a suitable title!!!) somewhere, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Anyway, I can say one thing: if you like Bestial Raids for their ultimate black / death devastation and only know the full length albums, then you should definitely also try to get the demos!

This music is obviously for die hard maniacs only. It won’t speak to those, who only like their metal to sound highly professional, polished and over technical or whatever. This is not for these people and Bestial Raids is a complete opposite to all that. It is one of those bands, which you’ll hate for their cruel, bunker production, which is more like a rehearsal recording than anything else... it is also one of those bands, which offer a total devastation, uncompromised, merciless sonic attack. It’s bestial and primitive… It’s a chaos and noise, but damn... in case of some bands, such as Bestial Raids, it works beautifully. And sure, “Order of Doom” may not be quite as awesome as their second LP “Prime Evil Damnation”, which is just KILLER, but it is still damn good, in my opinion. I also liked the previous demo “Necrowar Holocaust”, by the way. “Order of Doom” is very intense, vicious, it is an extermination of all sacred and a real blast in the head of chaotic and severe black / death metal in the vein of Archgoat, Black Witchery and Blasphemy. If you’re into this style of music, then I am sure that you’re familiar with Bestial Raids already. Others probably would not be able to enjoy these cacophonous sounds, so they should not even bother.
Final rate: 70/100

Order of Doom was the second demo from Bestial Raids, and was later pressed on 7” in 2007 by NWN! Productions (which is what I’m reviewing). Bestial Raids are a black/death metal band from Poland who worship at the altar of Beherit, Blasphemy, Archgoat, etc. Ever since their initial release, Bestial Raids have established their role as one of the best current bands that this beast of a sub-genre has to offer, and they live up to this title with each and every release.

Bestial Raids have never been ones to worry about clean and polished production jobs on their releases, and Order of Doom is no exception. In fact, this is probably their rawest, filthiest recording yet, and it just works so well. The nature of their personal take on the foundations laid forth by this style’s forefathers is that of complete and total obliteration – not just of Christianity and all things holy, but EVERYTHING, and they convey this perfectly.

Sadist’s vocals here are quite different then on Reversed Black Trinity and the other more recent material. Rather then the raspy growl he would later develop, here he uses more of a guttural croak that is most certainly capable of raising the dead, and suits this filthy black noise perfectly. The guitars are an ugly, mangled, grinding mess in the best possible way, and are somewhat reminiscent of those on The Oath of Black Blood. The bass kind of blends in with the guitar and is hard to discern a lot of the time, but it is really not too big of a deal. Like many of these types of bands, the drums are front and center, which is not a bad thing in this case. Necron blasts and grinds away relentlessly, but throws in some tempo changes here and there for good measure.

This is an excellent piece of black/death metal filth. The 7” of this is still available from a number of different distros, and I suggest those with a turntable to get themselves a copy sooner or later.