Dusty Old Demos - Nhaavah - Kings of Czech Black Metal

Tracklist:

1. Death 
2. I'm Satan, I'm God 
3. Hate 
4. Xenophobia 
5. The Law 
6. War 
7. Nhaavah

This is the first, and one of only two editions into the discography of the now defunct Czech black metal duo Nhaavah which was made up of ‘Vlad Blasphemer’ (R.I.P. 2015) and ‘Barbarud Hrom’. Both men were/are members of the band Maniac Butcher also based out of the Czech Republic.

Where to begin with this one, well a good place I suppose is to say that it fucking sucks. Never before have I encountered a black metal record that was so shoddy in every conceivable way that it felt like a parody, until now. In fact I sincerely hope this is a parody or troll of some kind because if it isn’t then I really think that the reputation of black metal as a whole has been tarnished in some irrevocable way.
 
So why exactly does this demo suck just so much you ask? Well first of all this entire demo sounds like a $5 promo for a discount drum machine, as every single track on this release has the fastest, most repetitive and obnoxious drum programming I  have ever heard, once it begins it simply doesn’t let up. Couple this with nearly inaudible riffs of the most boring nature and vocals that sound like a cheap parody of Sargeist and you have the steaming sack of mess that is this demo.

If you think I am overplaying just how bad this release is, I dare you to listen to it all the way through and still say I’m overblowing it, go on I dare you.

Frankly however, the saddest thing about this release is that I actually own it as part of the bands self-titled compilation, which I now seriously regret buying blind. But let this serve as warning to not only me but also you fine people, don't buy black metal on ebay while drunk, because you might just end up with something like this dropping like an unwanted turd through your letterbox.    

Dusty Old Demos - Tears Of Evil - The Spirit of the Pagan Temple

Tracklist:

Side A - Side Tears 
1. Culth 
2. Jesus Execution 
3. Death in Pains 
Side B - Side Evil 
4. Darkstorm 
5. Christians Must Die 
6. Sacrifice 

This is the one and only release from the now defunct Polish raw black metal band Tears of Evil. This demo was put out in 1995 and featured ‘Lord Sidragasum’ on vocals and bass, ‘Lord Succor-Benoth’ providing guitar work and ‘Lord Viper the Son of Satan Sperm’ on drums. This trio never went on beyond this project to make any other black metal, or any metal at all for that matter as far as I can tell.

Considering this demo only clocks in at around ten minutes, it is hard to really get an in-depth listen to any of the tracks, all of which seem to have grindcore run times, and generally feature about as many blast beats. It is also fairly hard to even hear the bass and guitar work as for the most part all that can be heard throughout the demo is Lord Sidragasum’s rather dull vocals and the aforementioned blast beats. This leaves the demo sounding more like a ten minute production malfunction that left out riffs, and originality.

To be perfectly honest I generally enjoy this kind of raw basement production, but something about the constant and repetitive drumming, default black metal vocals and lack of riffs really raised my hackles on this one, I would not recommend it, even if it is only ten minutes.  

         

 

Afsky - Afsky (EP Review)

 

 

Tracklist:

1. Frosten knuger sjælen i

2. Et sidste farvel 

3. Velkommen til dødsriget 

This the newly released debut EP from the independent Danish atmospheric/depressive black metal project Afsky.

The album begins with the rather odd track Frosten knuger sjælen I graven (The frost clenching his soul in the grave) which seems to blend elements of depressive black metal with some post, folk and even traditional heavy metal to create what in actuality is a bit of slow let down. Although this track does feature a good guitar solo that would feel at home on a Celtic Frost record, it just stands out awkwardly on this release.

The second track on the album Et sidste farvel (One last goodbye) is nothing to really rave over either, only in the case of this track it suffered greatly from a lack of originality, ending up as a fairly slow and ultimately aimless song that in my opinion didn’t really contribute a great deal.

The last track on the album however was great, it perfectly demonstrated the musical and vocal capabilities of the band in a whirling storm of raw screams, blast beats and mournful riffs. Velkommen til dødsriget (Welcome to dødsriget) is a superb track, and definitely the highlight of this release.

Overall, this is by no means ground-breaking material, and for the most part is sadly rather dull, but it is partly redeemed by the EP’s last track.       

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