Begrime Exemious - Visions of the Scourge (2012)

Alberta's filthiest band, Begrime Exemious have been gradually improving themselves across the course of their discography. The 2010 full-length debut Impending Funeral of Man was a steady incline over the Set Ablaze... EP the year before, and now Visions of the Scourge surpasses even that, in what must be the group's most virile, venomous and focused effort to date. The striking black and white cover art is their best yet, looking as if it came straight from the pages of some obscure role playing guide like the original AD&D Monster Manual from 1977, and it's a nice portent to the absolute, twisted and sincere extremity saturating the music.

Perhaps one of the band's obvious strengths is how they are able to capture a very raw, live feeling without seeming under-produced. Begrime seems like it could be performing in the rehearsal space next to your own, with this organic tone to the guitars and vocals that feel as if the band seek the most honest representation of their live capabilities when entered into the studio. I found Visions to be mildly less melodic than Impending..., perhaps even a bit slower and less complex, but the writing here is built off a lot of the same influences, crossbred between the realms of formative black and death metal circa the late 80s and early 90s. Certainly you've got the undertow of band's like Hellhammer in the grooves, but I like to think of this sound as what might have happened if Autopsy, Darkthrone and Mayhem were to form a band together in 1989. Black as pitch, brutal without being technical, and weened off a pissed off, punkish subtext (as in the breakout bass-led charge in "Oath of Impiety").

Some of the riffs often feel familiar in structure to many you've heard, but then they take off into these manic, old school evil tremolo twists that soak up the volatile, torn growls like a carpet of human hair absorbing the blood of some nearby stabbing victim. But they're actually quite dynamic, and you'll experience a solid variation through the track list, from the dissonant and ghastly spikes of "Chasm of Obscurity" to the disgusting momentum of "The Vault of Ancient Bone and Poison Saliva" (one of the best song titles this year, easily) and the thundering, thick guitars that meander through the opening to "Sacrament of Virgin Flesh". Where the drums cut away in that song, the grinding of the guitars is beautifully hostile. I also enjoyed the whacked out, sporadic leads that carved an atmosphere into the closer, "Relic of Befouled Incantations".

When you think about it, Canada has always been a haven for these excellent hybrids of the black and death metal niches, to the extent that they really toss all of their components like a salad of rancid guts and then bake them into a dish of their own. Groups like Blasphemy and Revenge paved the way, and today we've got Weapon, Mitochondrion and Begrime Exemious shouldering this hellish burden and battering through the pearly gates, each in their own, inventive way. Begrime might seem the least 'experimental' of this crop, but they also are one of the best at capturing the tangible malevolence of these genres' roots and then smiting the listener upside the face with them, all without the security of unnecessarily polish, symphonic excess or needless wanking indulgence. Visions of the Scourge is their most virulent, wretched embolism yet unto the arteries of humanity, and even if its slightly shy of primal perfection, its pustules absolutely ooze unapologetic evil.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://begrime.orphy.net/

Begrime Exemious - Impending Funeral of Man (2010)

Last year's Set Ablaze the Kingdom of Abraham EP not only introduced me to the disgusting, primal wall of force that is Begrime Exemious, but also answered the eternal question that had been sloshing around in my wet brain for decades: what would happen if you just took every one of your classic thrash, death, speed, black, grind, and doom influences from the 80s or 90s, threw them into a blender with a few pounds of raw meat and then choked down the results until you were inebriated? That was a fun if short cocktail, with a nifty Autopsy cover tacked on, but if it could be attributed with any crime (beyond the inherent blasphemy of its creation), it would be the pangs of thirst that were left at the back of my throat as I anticipated more...

Well, a little over a year later, the palate can finally be satisfied with the unsavory sounds of the first hellish full-length album from the Canadian butchers, a 44 minute crash course in uncaring, unswerving, beautiful negligence of all the annoying trends and cash-ins that have plagued their chosen art for nigh on decades. Impending Funeral of Man sounds as if a warband of very shaggy men were frozen in their jam space during a blizzard in the 1994-95 season, only to thaw a decade into the 21st century to mete out the bludgeoning atrocities of their influences on an unsuspecting world of Necrophagist wankers and frog-tossing invertebrate Devourment fans. Begrime Exemious essentially have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the good stuff from that bygone era, and they hammer it all together like plates of mismatched armor. You can hear the mix and mess of Order from Chaos, the infernal death siege engine of Incantation, the crash and speed of Slaughter, Bathory, Mayhem, and a hundred other formative thrash, black and death metal artists, plus the subtle undercurrents of death/doom and grind.

Impending Funeral of Man is for the most part a fast and filthy album, a corridor of violent, suffocating aberrations with only occasional alcoves in which to stop and gather your dying breaths. But these pauses are plentiful enough that the album achieves an overall balance of dynamic diabolism which allows you to barrel straight through it like a drunken fiend in a brothel of succubi, satisfied with the rising and falling of tempos. Tracks like "Morbid Invocation" and "Archfiend" (the one track that re-appears from the prior EP) beat upon you relentlessly, but never forget that they're actual decent metal songs, with good if sporadic lead work and a slight touch more atmosphere than you'd initially expect. One of my favorites on the album was "Filthy Sodomites of Christ", which rolls along like a rusted tank with headphones on, listening to a mix tape of Hellhammer, Autopsy and early Morbid Angel. Another is the digestible, violently melodic "Ancient Crypts Asunder", with its winning mile of raw leads and dank, sincere vocals.

"Incipit" took me completely by surprise, an atmospheric instrumental dowsed in acoustic melancholy. Closing track "I, Iconoclast" is also noteworthy as one of the most raging and bombastic pieces here. In fact, I think I enjoyed every track with the possible exception of the "Psalmody of Sacrificial Blaze". It's 9 minutes long and divided into three segments, the first of which ripped my face off. Somewhere around the middle I got lost until the slow leads and doomy tones of the closing moments stirred me, but ultimately even this track is at least good enough. The album is hardly over-saturated with instantly memorable riffing, but that's not really the type of band this is. They succeed through an overall sense of punishment, and a courage to branch out into whatever direction serves the song.

Begrime Exemious is very much an old school band, or rather an amalgamation of old school sounds that probably holds no real interest for the attention starved younger fan of deathcore or technical knob slobbing. But their strength lies in the fact that they emulate not one style or act in particular, but the entire spectrum of extremity that once existed. There is no boring, endless blast work here. No trendy noodling. No cheap breakdowns. Impending Funeral of Man benefits from a grounded, raw mix which would be very easy to reproduce in the live setting, and to that effect, they are one of the most honest sounding bands you'll hear today. I was very surprised that a Nuclear War Now! or Hell's Headbangers had not picked up the band after the previous EP, since Begrime has that center of appeal which could easily transfer to fans of a band like Goatlord, Nunslaughter or Blasphemophager.

Alas, it seems they've got a cool new label to do right by them, and enough diversity in their sound to play alongside nearly any death, black, thrash or death/doom bill, so there's not a lot stopping them. As someone used to hearing only the more tech inspired death approach of a Neuraxis, Cryptopsy or Martyr coming from Canada, it's a massive, refreshing plus to see my northern neighbors throw such a potent incendiary unto the battlefield of revival extremity that has promulgated internationally in these past few years.

Highlights: Archfiend, Incipit, Filth Sodomites of Christ, I, Iconoclast, Ancient Crypts Asunder

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://begrime.orphy.net/

Begrime Exemious - Set Ablaze the Kingdom of Abraham EP (2009)

First, what a band name...

Secondly, what a kick ass band! Set Ablaze the Kingdom of Abraham is an adrenaline rush of Canadian filth, barbaric old school death and black metal which isn't afraid to incorporate catchy leads, punk toned rhythms and in some spots... EXCELLENT doom at a raunchy, slow pace. I was actually sad when this EP ended, 20 minutes just didn't feel like enough!

The EP features three originals and a cover of Autopsy's "Ridden With Disease". "Archfiend" opens with the creepy sample of a woman speaking and then a volley of charnel house death metal grooves over a rapid and tinny drum kit. Make no mistake about it, this band sounds old, old in an intentional way which recalls the pure darkness of the early 90s, emerging death and black scenes. Hellhammer and Beherit sprung to mind immediately, along with a host of others too long to list. There is simply an air of authenticity in this band's sound, as if they took the last 15 years of metal and proudly cast it out the fucking door. "He of Wretched Deeds" creates a Slayer-like, slothful atmosphere of evil before lurching into some blackish doom. "All Devourer" is even more evil, leading off with a Sabbath style riff and then some great old churning death metal. The Autopsy cover sounds a little different than the rest of the material, with some more vitriol to the vocals.

Begrime Exemious is sufficiently sinister to deliver this old school hybrid of material, and the EP is a pleasure while it lasts. Hopefully a deal is in the works for a full length.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://begrime.orphy.net/