Infernal War & Kriegsmaschine - Transfigurations (2010)

Participate in nearly any conversation about Polish black metal, which to this day is largely still underground (unlike several of their death metal exports) and the band Infernal War is likely to come up as a subject of interest. Past recordings have heralded the band as one of the true, blasting titans of this scene, competitive against their Swedish and Norse peers; overwhelming, efficient and indisputably savage. I've met several persons who were just astounded by the band, recommending them to me as if I simply would not believe what I was hearing, like some new plateau of extremity had been met. Well, I feel that I'd be exaggerating to claim that Terrorfront and Redesekration had any impact beyond mere enjoyment on me, being standard black metal at intense speeds with heavy drumming.

Their contribution to this Transfigurations split is fairly varied though, occupying three of the five tracks, first with the writhing, slower paced "Primal Degradation" and the even more cautious, creeping "Into the Vortex of Naught" (the best song on the EP), and lastly "Incipit Chaos", a black/thrash piece with a few decent riffs to it. As usual, Infernal War sound bold and clear, lacking some of the atmosphere of lesser structured acts, but making up for that with a sinister professionalism. 'I could kick your ass while even wearing a suit' type fare here, and to be frank it goes off without a hitch. If you enjoyed their previous albums, then I can't see a reason you wouldn't dive right, but there's little of lasting value despite a few spiky riffs in the latter two pieces, and decent ambient intros.

Their companions here are countrymen Kriegsmaschine, who have a rougher, more rock fueled approach to the genre, more than evident in "Onward Destrudo", with its razing walls of thrashing force eclipsed by the higher pitched chords churning above them. "Fear and Loathing in Gethsemane" is a longer piece, 8 minutes in fact, and ranges from steady grooving to a rabid blasting bridge over which the vocals howl, a blackened storm warning with some decent slices of melody inserted. The latter is the more interesting of their contributions, but the former is the better due to its fist fighting inertia, and when all is said and done, you've got about 28 minutes of black metal here that strays a little left of the beaten path, even progressive, though it remains confident in its roots.

Transfigurations is not a recording I'll be coming back to often, but it's certainly a fair pairing of two bands that stick their necks just slightly above the status quo. If you're expecting expressive rawness with filthy, disheveled vocals, this is not something that is like to sate you. Just the drumming in "Fear and Loathing in Gethesmane", or the echoing vocals and brutal hypnotic guitars, are enough to convince all that Kriegsmaschine are an evolutionary, stunning force just waiting to break out with the proper material, and Infernal War won't likely require even the semblance of an introduction, as they've stirred up their share of the hornets' nest already. The five tracks collected here might not be especially great examples of their work, but that a strong amount of effort was involved in their concoction is not up or debate. Along with Furia and Massemord, they shamelessly represent an aggressive generation of Polish persistence.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/iwofficial
http://www.kriegsmaschine.pl/

Sanguis Imperem & Nocturnal Blood - Imperial Impurity SPLIT (2010)

Normally my exposure to Californian death metal consists of either high quality Carcass worship (i.e Exhumed, Impaled) or a slew of consistent and technical fare with its finger on the pulse of today's current edge of brutality (i.e. Severed Savior, Deeds of Flesh, Odious Mortem, Sepsism, The Faceless, the list goes on). It throws me off my game a little to hear two downright old school bands like Sanguis Imperem & Nocturnal Blood from the same place, but hey, it's an enormous state, and there are plenty of killing grounds for everyone.

This is one of the better match ups for a split release I've heard of late, because both acts walk a very similar path, though not to a fault that you'd be unable to distinguish them from one another. Sanguis Imperem has a slightly more warlike, in the face death tendency while Nocturnal Blood is more about invoking sheer horror through the level of atmosphere placed alongside the riffs. I won't lie, the writing is incredibly simplistic, to a level that many bands could assert by simply plugging in and jamming out the first things that come to mind. Neither of these bands is bent on establishing virtuoso credential for itself, they just want to play death metal the way it once reigned, and a listener's enjoyment will rely largely on the extent to which he or she can ignore any lack of nuance or progression. That being said, if you are fond of the morbid old regime of Entombed, Autopsy, Grave, Obituary, Hellhammer, Bolt Thrower and Deicide, then pull up a chair, throw on your scrubs and watch the mortician as he begins to embalm these archaic tones. The place is here, the time is Nuclear Now!, and the Father, the Spirit and the Holy Ghost have each turned their backs on us long ago.

Sanguis Imperem takes the first half of the split, several of whom actually perform live with Nocturnal Blood, making this an even more natural collaboration. They open with a bizarre, brief ritual of fuzzed out clean guitars, background winds and noises titled "Festum Mortis", and then proceed into "Carrier of Plagues", a grinding blaster with basic, primal riffing and a nihilistic level of hostility reminiscent of the early English bands like Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Impaler and the like. "Tyrants of Iron" is more bombastic, with some steady, slogging rhythms over a march-like drum beat, as well as some snarls mixed into its growling. "Red is the Color of the Gods" is the best of the three, reminding me very much of something that might have appeared on War Master or Realm of Chaos, with a great build in momentum after a writhing, snakelike melody that offsets the pummeling chords.

I'm already loosely familiar with Nocturnal Ghoul, Spirit of Darkness and his Nocturnal Blood project, having some exposure to his previous EPs, Nocturnal Crucifxions (2009) and Invocation of Spirits (2010) which, while falling short of mind blowing, were successful stabs at a raunchy, ancient vortex of evil. The material here on the split is no different, and the guy knows how to win you over almost immediately with a creepy intro ("Chime the Bells of Doom") and an immediate lapse into death metal so dark it can NOT have been created in the surface world. At the very least, this was written in a deep, dank cellar somewhere, or some secret catacomb that runs below a sepulcher, where the willing are free to rob the dead from below. This shit is just disgusting sounding, and tracks like "Blasphemy Written in Fornication" and "Abnormalities Prevail" should solidify Nocturnal Blood's place among similar depravities like Funebrarum and newer acts like Cruciamentum, Vasaeleth and Innumerable Forms.

If I were forced to choose a side, well, I think I've made that already clear. Sanguis Imperem shows promise, and riff-wise the bands are close to the same level, but I did find myself losing a little interest in spots where the material felt too dry and had little cryptic octane dowsing it to compensate. Nocturnal Blood simply maintains that grim and horrific craft I have come to expect out of the better nostalgia-fueled death metal acts, and his side of the split is like having your rotten cake (Left Hand Path) and eating it too (Onward to Golgotha). I'm certainly no apostate towards the more modern, technical and experimental movements within the scene, but it's always refreshing to throw on some of this freshly festering, old school sound and realize that there are others out there who know just where it all came from, and where it is very often welcome to return.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/sanguisimperem
http://nocturnalblood.hellsheadbangers.com/

Midnight & Abigail - Farewell to Metal Slut EP (2010)

Midnight and Abigail are both good bands, and their pairing on this 7" is only natural, especially seeing how they just got off a tour in Japan together. This is a limited run, of course, with a US pressing and a separate pressing that was available only on their tour, so it's obviously intended for the most hardcore collectors of the bands' material, in particular Abigail, who like their countrymen Sabbat, participate in a great many of these releases. I may be a huge flag waver for digital music distribution, but its cool that we have such a vinyl culture surviving today, and it's not like anyone is being charged an arm or a leg for most of them.

Unfortunately, a lot of these 7" splits are often too skimpy to take seriously, and Farewell to Metal Slut does suffer from the symptom of useless indulgence. There are only two tracks on the EP, one from each band, and neither is an original studio track. Having Midnight and Abigail team up for a 7" of new material, perhaps 2-3 songs each, would have been well worth the investment, but that is not the case here. Abigail's contribution is a live cut of "Teen Age Metal Fuck" from their recent Sweet Baby Metal Slut LP. That was a fantastic album, and it sounds pretty good in the live setting, though the actual recording is pretty lo-fi. Just another reason to get jealous that I haven't seen the band! Midnight offer up a cover of Quiet Riot's "Slick Black Cadillac", from the 1979 album Quiet Riot II. It's a cool choice of cover, and the band give it a blackened edge, making it the perfect counterpart for Abigail's sound in general (at least for the past decade).

Indeed, there is nothing offensive about either track on the 7", only that it ends there. For collectors, this is just another piece of rare plastic and a sleeve to put in their bin, or on display. For an avid music hunter, it's just 8 minutes with a smile and a wink from two bad ass bands, and the money would probably be better invested in Midnight's Farewell to Hell EP, or any of the Abigail full-length records. So unless you sport an erection for rare collectibles that you can show off in a few decades, to the few hundred other people in the world that really care, I would not go out of my way to acquire this.

Verdict: Fail [3.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/athenarsmidnight

Abigail & Vorkuta - Speed Metal Motherfuckers EP (2007)

I am a cursed man, cursed to enjoy just about anything a Japanese band like Sabbat, Metalucifer or Abigail involves itself in. If that means I need to dig through a slew of short run live recordings and rare split releases with the seedier bands from around the world, then so be it. But here on the Speed Metal Motherfuckers 7" from Necromancer Records (aka Speed Metal Motherfuckerzz if you have access to the cassette version on Hammer of Damnation), your favorite Engrish butchers may have just met their match in Hungary's Vorkuta, a prolific group featuring current and former members of bands like Witchcraft, Dög, and Drünken Bastards.

Vorkuta take the first two tracks, and they honestly don't sound like a far cry from Dög, as both bands basically channel Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost into an even more disgusting and degrading black mass. "At the Threshold of Hell" seems like it might have fallen off the back of Morbid Tales, a shriveled tumor, except for the faster segments which bound along like jackrabbits thrashing about beneath a buzzsaw. "Helldrinkerz" is even sicker, with an infusion of grind and punk ballast that writhes beneath the blacker, alcohol seared throat like a lizard with its tail severed. I am only familiar with the one Vorkuta full-length Into the Chasms of Lunacy, which I seem to recall as rather average, but if this split is any indication, they may have more to offer than initially thought.

Abigail's half begins with the venomous, filthy barrage that is "Satanik Lust", and you'll know quickly that this is one of the band's more 'serious' songs, where they sound more like a phalanx of hellish mercenaries hungry for slaughter than their usual bitch-flaunting street metal selves. As far as I'm concerned, they're sexy either way, and this track is no exception if you like dirt in your wounds, plain and simple execution and utter hostility. They've also included a live track "Rocking Metal Motherfuckers" which sounds as if it's being taped from the bathroom of the bar, Yasuyuki's vocals probably driving out half the poor souls that thought they would just show up for some beer and conversation, not realizing that the Devil's own drug dealers were going to be present. It sounds like a wonderful mess, but sadly it's the least interesting song on the split.

I've railed on an off about EPs, collectible releases and the like, and how they're generally a waste of your time and spending. In a perfect world, I'd rather have a CD available to be which collected all this detritus. But if you're going to take the plunge, I insist you purchase any Abigail split or vinyl you come across, if only because the band's DIY mentality and wise choice of scumbag cohorts is just too endearing to resist. Vorkuta prove themselves worthy here, but I would have preferred another Abigail track to the junky live (though it brings back a lot of memories of gigs I've played at or watched.)

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://vorkuta.uw.hu/index.html

Desaster & Sabbat - Anniversarius EP (2009)

Anniversarius is certainly not the first case of a pair of bands covering one another on a split release, but here it's at least two bands that I truly enjoy. It only seems natural that Germany's Desaster and Japan's Sabbat would share an affinity, as they are both pioneers in the world of black/thrash metal and possess a similar level of underground credibility (though Sabbat have been far more prolific in their endless stream of vinyl releases, splits, live Eps, and so forth).

This is a short but sweet 7" release; as a standalone value I could only recommend it to diehard vinyl collectors and fans of the bands. Sabbat covers "Porter of Hellgate" from Desaster's A Touch of Medieval Darkness (1996), giving it an even more raw, rehearsal feeling with Gezol's bass playing loud as fuck and vocals slathering in all their rugged charisma. Desaster reaches back further yet, with a treatment of Sabbat's "Darkness and Evil" from their 1988 Desecration EP. The Desaster version is an enhancement in studio quality over both the original and the Sabbat offering on this 7", but judging by the hellish, raw pedigree that both bands have enforced throughout their career, it is unlikely this disparity of sound will affect the intended listeners.

Neither of the bands takes a huge liberty with their chosen track, it's more of a tribute to one another and themselves: Sabbat for 25 years of existence, and Desaster for 20 years (Desaster even pays lip service to Sabbat at the end of their cover). These are both phenomenal bands, and if you're not currently owning at least their studio output then I've a mind that you are blissfully ignorant at best, or a rotten stinking poseur! That being said, this isn't the place to start if you're just getting into them. 7" and 7 minutes of energetic, primal black thrash metal.

Verdict: Win [777/10] (holy cross, sink with light)

http://www.total-desaster.com/
http://welcome.to/sabbat/

Deafest/Livimørket - Split (2009)

After enjoying the recent Dark Totality demo from the UK's Livimørket, I decided to check out this split with US Deafest, and was pleasantly surprised here by both bands. Each is offering two tracks, for a total playtime of 33 minutes.

Deafest hail from Colorado; they've already issued a few full-lengths, and appeared on some splits. They play a brand of spacious, atmospheric black metal with guiding melodies, and conceptually exploring the North American wilderness. "From Subterranean Seeds to Supporting the Sky" begins with a creeping, beautiful landfill of raw guitars, slowly transforming riffs over crashing live drums, which often makes breaks into faster territory. It's a glorious track even without vocals, but I feel they might have enriched it. "The Coyote and the Valley" features tranquil, lush acoustics and driving melodic passages, and there are a few harsh vocals. The tracks are certainly good enough that I want to check out more from the band, since this is my first exposure.

Livimørket offer a two-parter, the "Crucible of Spirits", and while their style is a bit more distant and grim, their guitar tones and occasional use of wondrous acoustics do match up with Deafen's material. Both halves of "Crucible of Spirits" add up to 20 minutes length and embark the listener on a sonic excursion through distant, violent landscapes that are often breached for minimal passages with scintillating post-rock acoustic atmosphere and light percussion. The second half of the track is heavier, transforming from slower, doom rhythms draped in melody to a driving passage which feels like it's being played at you through a cavern high in a windy mountain range.

Both of these young bands excel here, and any fan of independently produced black metal that balances depressive emotions and an exploration of the natural world would be wise to check them out. A very tasteful split, relaxing yet never void of hints at the greater darkness to come.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.deafestband.com/
http://www.myspace.com/livimorket

Overmars/Icos - Split 7" (2008)

This is just a short two-song split, but the Icos part of it excited me enough to write something about it.

Overmars is a French group playing a slightly trippy, post-metal-inflected form of hardcore. "The Road to Awe" spends its first two minutes meandering in a slow, pleasant instrumental laced with murmuring electronic noises, after which Overmars kick into a shimmering, jangly wall of guitars topped off with harsh, lightly tormented vocals. The song is definitely enjoyable, but they really need a better production to get the feel across. "The Road to Awe" is dry and flat, two things that have no place in such a heavy style.

Icos...

The Icos song here is the most doomed material I've heard in a long time. Drenched in the reverb of a broken mind, "Far From Home" crawls wretchedly on shattered legs, bellowing in pain and hate and frustration. Every beat is agony, inevitable yet unforgivable in its coming. The vocals retain that dry, pissed-off hardcore feel but match the music so much better than what we normally see in these sorts of cross-overs. As much as reviewers may want to tie this into other bands and sources, Icos' material on this split is the pure essence of funeral doom, and I fucking love it. As a little aside, the warbling electronic pulses at the beginning remind me of Mar de Grises' most recent material, which is a definite plus in my book. From what I can tell of their older albums, Icos haven't made anything quite as desolate as "Far From Home," leaving me extremely excited for new material from them.

As I said, this is just two songs, so there's nothing absolutely necessary about it, but the Icos song is so fantastic that it's worth your time to check it out.

Verdict: Win [4/5]

http://www.myspace.com/icosonline

http://www.myspace.com/overmars