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ARCHEAN - Self Titled EP
Ogmios Underground
Holy crap this is cool as fuck! Musically this is like blackened fuckin punk meets an hailstorm of insanity and blast beats. Your too cool kvlt crowd might thumb their noses at it and of course the hiptard post BM losers will hate it. But hey back in the day I knew plenty of scum punks who got into BATHORY. Fast forward to the present and there's a shitload of fans out there who refuse to be defined by genres or crowds because they like it all as long as it's intense.
Now the one thing about this release that freaks me out a bit is the vocals. This is a female singer who comes across as one pissed off woman. She's not really trying that hard to be harsh or sickening as far as her vocal range goes. She just comes across as angry as hell. And you know hell has no fury like a woman's scorn. She's like that over all five of these tracks. Damm I better check to see if I left the toilet seat up. Be that as it may this is the debut release by this French five piece act. Damm thing will put you in your place.
http://www.ogmiosug.fr/
https://archean.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/ArcheanBlackMetal/
LORD KETIL - Long Lone Among The Wolves
Ogmios Underground
OK so the first time I listened to this it was 3 AM and about midway through I wanted to run out into the street naked and scream "Black Metal Is Krieg"! Thankfully I didn't because I'd most likely be in jail right now or maybe in a hospital room under supervision. I can just imagine that Q&A session. It was also in the low thirties that night which can be a little embarrassing if you know what I mean. But anyways here we have a band that will ignite the fire in all of you out there who crave the old raw sound of years ago.
LORD KETIL is a French black metal act started years ago by multi instrumentalist Alkorne Al Krahan. Until recently he recruited a person who goes by the name Psycho to perform vocals. I think this is a perfect place to start because the vocals on this, LORD KETIL's second full length, need to be addressed.
For the most part Psycho is a decent black metal vocalist. He does the harsh violent rasp well on most cuts. But then on songs like opener, "Wild Hunt" and "The Gates Of Aeon", he sounds like a tortured de-winged harpie. That kinda bothers me as well as the guest clean vocals by Haine. Other then that he's fine.
As far as the whole sound musically it's basically what I mentioned earlier. This is all old school raw Les Legiones Noires influenced BM. It sticks to the early French black metal template with a few exceptions here and there. Honestly this is like VLAD TEPES 2018. Seriously you've got the hate factor, the minimalist tremolo riffs as well as drumming. What more could you want when you're looking for not much.
http://www.ogmiosug.fr/
https://lordketil.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/lordketil
HUMAN SERPENT - For I, the Misanthropist
Ogmios Underground
You know when I go to a band's website and am greeted with the words "The Perverted Level Of Motherfucking Nihilism" I know I'm going to like them. It's still early January and great black metal from all across the world is still coming into this blog like an ever flowing river of blood. Case in point here we have the latest release by Greek black metallers HUMAN SERPENT. The band are new to me but have been raising hell and misanthropy in the Hellenic black metal scene since 2013.
HUMAN SERPENT are a duo featuring X who is responsible for guitar, bass, vocals and lyrics. He's also in the blackened thrash act NECROWHORE who some strange reason I believe I'm familiar with. The drum work is supplied by I. Since 2013 they've been busy, putting out a demo, various split releases and two full lengths. On this their third full length the band mix good sounding old school style black metal with flourishes of melody and of course nihilistic fury.
On the whole For I, the Misanthropist is pure hateful black metal which is characteristic to the Hellenic style. But then again this isn't about style, instead it's ideology which fuels this duo. Yeah I read some things from their website. Musically the riffing is sharp and on certain cuts has a metallic chime that gives off a cool contrast to the fast paced drumming. On the first part of this album these guys let loose with amazing song structure twists.
As much time that this band spends bludgeoning you there's always some undertone of melody seeping in that carries a song along. As far as X's vocals go, he's got this rough raspy tone and at certain times a bark that comes across as a I don't give a fuck about you vile attitude. It's very interesting to listen to this guy sing because I can't think of anyone similar at the moment. All in all this is a great release by a band that has brought Hellenic black metal back to a position of high standing.
http://www.ogmiosug.fr/
https://humanserpent.bandcamp.com/album/for-i-the-misanthropist
http://humanserpentofficial666.blogspot.gr/
INSANITY CULT - Of Despair and Self-Destruction
Ogmios Underground
I do not have a set regiment when it comes to checking out new releases that come in for review. It's usually whenever I have 4 to 5 hours of free time. With that in mind I came to checking out this Greek black metal band's second full length on the morning of the final day of January 2017. While most people waking up on Monday mornings listen to the news, weather and sports to start their day I turned on INSANITY CULT's Of Despair and Self-Destruction. After the opening acoustic guitar intro, the release actually gets stated with "Seeds of Lesser Gods" which was a cold brutal wake up call.
After that one song I stopped it and went outside for a smoke only to be greeted by a freezing cold temperature plus a brisk wind that knocked gum balls off the neighbor's tree which rained down upon the back deck as well as my head. Even with all of that once I finished listening to this release I decided it was colder. One of the first things you take away from listening to this is that Sacrilegious vocals are so fuckin tortured you'd think he had electrodes attached to his balls when he recorded this. I mean shrieks of pain and anguish is really putting it lightly. I was actually glad that there was a mid-point interlude on here just to give my sanity a break. I mean enough with the screaming, sign the papers.
As far as the music goes the band is channeling second wave black metal along with keeping the songs at various paces which keeps things interesting. The slow to mid-paced riffs convey the same tortured despair as the vocals. There's also some spoken word passages that are more like calls to hear my prayers of nihilistic pain. This band obviously thrives on drama, melancholy, hatred and dread but then again look at their name. The band started back in 2011 but finally put out an EP, Insanity Be My Kvlt (cool title by the way), in 2014. A year later they followed that up with their debut As My End Unfolds. Just for the record this is my first time hearing INSANITY CULT and I like them a lot.
Of course whenever someone utters the words "Greek Black Metal" you're gonna hear from the blackened forum posters citing the greatness of the past as in NECROMANTIA, VARATHRON and ROTTING CHRIST. Obvious those are greats from the Greek black metal scene, although honestly ROTTING CHRIST has been fucking boring for a while now. I kinda look to the newer faves (like in the past decade) as in RAVENCULT, ASTARTE (RIP: Tristessa) and my favorite misanthropic one man act DODSFERD (Come on, Fucking Your Creation is a timeless classic.) I think INSANITY CULT has earned a place, at least in my view, on the latest pantheon of good Greek Black Metal acts.
By no means is this release perfect. There's only six out of eight real songs, the other two an intro and an interlude. Of those cuts after a while the riffs get one dimensional. I think the vocals, if you want to refer to them as vocals, are also one dimensional. But this band does fall into that category; You think your life is bad then listen to this.
Rating: 4/5
http://www.ogmiosug.fr/
https://www.facebook.com/insanitycult/
https://insanitycult.bandcamp.com/
