Law of Contagion
Black Metal's
elitist facet is known to the people that follow the genre. I have always
looked at the genre as standing high above the multiples sub-genres of Heavy
Metal... so I assume my part in it. Where does it come from exactly? I have no
idea, but to this day, some musicians, and some followers, provide the genre
with this aura of superiority.
The Portuguese Black Metal scene, like any other scene scattered all over the World, has its Underground, and its more "approachable" bands and projects. This sentence alone is a stamp of a person - or a genre, in this case - that believes to be more than someone else. So... challenge accepted, and task completed. Truth be told, all layers of the genre have a target audience, so that allows everyone to be happy, right? Well, maybe not, but yes at the same time.
Portugal has started exporting, for the last 10 + years, an enormous amount of excellent Raw (mostly) Black Metal and has become famous for such. Be it IRAE, or Decrepitude, Degredo or Mons Veneris, this specific line of Black Metal has gained fans all over the World, and Portugal is at the forefront of the Revolution. This is superb, but it leaves plenty of bands lost in the shadow of the genre, that has clearly chosen a very specific artistic approach to support.
Portugal has always "produced" quality Black Metal, but as mentioned before, some artists really exploded to the Worldwide scene, which fills me with pride, to be honest. And with that, we march on to a Portuguese name that has been around for years, has delivered immense quality Black Metal Art, and released a new album not long ago. Law of Contagion is a one-man-band from Porto, and we all know how the Porto scene is: a melting cauldron of Heavy Metal. Barreiro once took the price, but Porto seems to have established itself as The Portuguese Meca for all-around Heavy Metal. Venues, musicians, an active scene... and back to Ishkur. Below, my view on his latest offering with Law of Contagion, "Oecumenical Rites for the Antichrist". A release that does not jump into the Raw Black Metal bandwagon, but it confirms the Artist's ability to craft some exquisite Black Metal.
Law of Contagion – “Oecumenical Rites for the Antichrist” (Moribund Records, 2022)
I first heard
of Ishkur in 2006, when the Demo “The Ancient Ones Come” was released by Hell
War Productions. Portuguese Black Metal was spreading its black wings and
evolving towards different scenarios within the genre. Ishkur then set off,
years later, to craft Black Metal under several sonic approaches, as well as
taking part in various Black Metal entities from the city of Porto. This to
show that we are dealing with a musician / artist that knows his craft
perfectly well, and Law of Contagion is a proof of such. Law of Contagion’s
start dates back to 2019, and 2020 saw the arrival of “Woeful Litanies from the
Nether Realms”.
2022 welcomes back Ishkur, and what a gift he has for us! His sound, his overall sound, is a very well-produced piece of Black Metal, again with the very subtle Death Metal elements, that increase the power with which we are assaulted! Normally, this approach to Black Metal tends to put me away. I am more of a raw, simple, primitive Black Metal guy, but I did not start with such anthems, meaning I can admire, and enjoy, Black Metal with a clean (or almost clean) production. The issue I have with over-produced, extremely clean Black Metal releases, is that some of them lack emotion, lack that feeling that I extracted from Rotting Christ’s “A Dead Poem”, or Tiamat’s “Clouds”, for example (been spinning those, sorry). They never sound plastic, nor emotionally empty. I am not, in any way, implying that LoC sounds plastic of emotionless, and that was the surprise I got out of this release. Take a track like “The Great Deceiver”, for example. It has a melodic line that lingers, and lingers, and you end up tapping your foot on the floor following such groovy melody. A heavy – but melodic – groove, of course.
Law of Contagion’s new release is a must for all Black Metal fans that enjoy their doses of melody, and darkening riffs. Yes, do not forget to check these riffs out, mates! The sensitivity this artist has in shown, completely, on how he operates and structures his songs. “Cacodemon” has this expanding rhythm, and it grows and grows; the drums on this one is particularly exquisite. The man is a multi-instrumentalist with an eye for perfection. No detail is left behind, and you can check that, once again, on the production! I know I have mentioned it repeatedly, but I have to…
This is not a “track-by-track” review, but I have to alert you for the transition from “Cacodemon” to “Sulphur Pulpit”, and how the latter grabs you by the throat and punishes you. This has the 90s feeling to it, or at least I can feel some of that in it…
I feel this release – and the previous one – should be given more attention, should be taken more seriously. In a time and age where the “only good Black Metal” is the one that sounds Primitive and Raw, to a very high level – or low – we are forgetting that not all Black Metal is Primitive and Raw; the term bandwagon has a tendency to “blind” people’s minds, right? We are yet to mention the vocals, that have been amusing me, a lot. Well, amusing in a very good way, like “these are bloody massive”! They fit, perfectly, the sound he has crafted.
To call this a hybrid, would be a mistake. Law of Contagion is a massive Black Metal beast, that touches Death Metal in very specific moments. People are used to putting everything that sounds like A or B, in the same basket; do not do it, please. Although I went into it with an idea, said idea was not completely incorrect, which is good.
This release ticks all the boxes to being considered one of the best Portuguese Black Metal releases of 2022. Let us wait…
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