Nadsvest / Necrobode - "Ustolicenje Smrti. The Triumph of Death" (Iron Bonehead Productions, 2021) 

Introductory note of immense interest / relevance: the gentleman who plays all the instruments in Nadsvest, is the same musician behind Bròn and Barshasketh, among many others, named Andrew Murray-Campbell... and what an artist! Just that. On we go.              

What to expect from this Split?

Nadsvest:, this is the second release since the formation in 2018, and what they present to us is Black Metal with a very clean production, which allows us to get an “image” of each of the instruments, voice included. It is Black Metal, in which the guitar work stands out, in which its focus is given to melodic lines, although without losing aggressiveness. We have no influence here from Mr. Andrew's other bands, so there are no delicate and harmonious ambiences. Marduk fans, for example, will possibly like it, since the "aggressive" details, as mentioned before, are all here. To say it is modern Black Metal would be almost an insult, but there is a "scent" of present days, no doubt. We have gone from guitar harmonies, to sounds of decadence and depravity.

Necrobode, whose members will by now be well known, returns, and hard. The hybrid of Black Metal and Death Metal, heavy riffs “sewer” vocalizations, a whole suffocating and cutting structure, this is what we received from this Portuguese entity. What else is there to say? Sometimes not risking, keeping what has been done until then, is the best way to act, especially if the formula works. This sub-genre (or whatever the Hell they want to call it) doesn't live much off the lines that one day Blasphemy or Beherit plotted, which implies the risk of falling into the marasmus. Necrobode has been, in my opinion, a pleasant surprise. They manage to create something very interesting in a reality that does not "allow" great adventures. 

It is an interesting Split, they're two bands with a very distinctive sound, if I can put it like that, but that works well. In just under 30 minutes we are stoned, punched, kicked, spat in the face, insulted... but we did enjoy it like mad people that we are.

Ordo Cultum Serpentis – “Derej Najash” (Signal Rex, 2021)

An increasingly frequent reality in today's music is the act of collaborating with musicians located in locations other than our own. Musicians from various parts of the Globe, as similar visions of a genre, who come together with a view to the creation of music, art. It is still interesting to simply imagine what the creative process will be like, away from that primordial maxim of staff stuck in a rehearsal room from everything and everything else. You change the times, you change the methods, I guess. Ordo Cultum Serpentis is one such example; musicians in different geographical locations (South Korea and Mexico), to create Art. 

This first, edited in the noblest format (Tape), by Signal Rex, the duo presents us 2 tracks, 2 rather long themes, which move in Black Metal, Death Metal and Doom Metal, both of which resemble small rituals, which makes sense given the cultural heritage of the nation from which each of the musicians comes. In terms of sound, and even if we have already mentioned the similarities, it must be stressed that the transitions (if we can even use the concept) are very well executed, creating a very natural fluidity.

More than a hybrid, O.C.S. is a sound experiment. Like a puzzle, in which musicians do by putting the pieces together in the perfect way. Can you do it? They manage to create moments of immense despair, for example, panting and suffocating. What does it look like? A Black, Death and Doom Metal. There is, in fact, a substantially higher load of Death Metal, whether in vocalizations or guitar work, but when the duo takes their foot off the accelerator and ventures for more Doom lines, that's where the compositions gain strength and feel the overwhelming power of music. The production is rotten enough, allowing us to have "access" to the details, even if we feel the one that there is something buried under that wall of sound. Curious to see how an album sits...

Szary Wilk – “Wrath” (Putrid Cult, 2021)

 

Poland, a country known for superb Black Metal, and immense controversies around this. Nice way to start, of course. Formed in 2018, they edited that same year the Demo "Wrota Chaosu", and this "Wrath" is the band's first album. And what does it mean, you ask? It does not sound like Behemoth, which is a point in favor. It sounds like Black Metal, and I venture to say it resembles some of the Black Metal previously crafted in this country. There is melody all around, which is one more point in favor.

The idea that Black Metal cannot be based on a blatantly melodic basis, thus risking losing its most visceral and primitive essence, is a tremendous mistake, in my opinion. Moreover, the Poles are masters at doing that! We were greeted by a song of just over 8 minutes, which would scare anyone (except if we were talking about atmospheric Black Metal), but it is so well built, that we are dragged into this medieval epic. Very interesting.

All 5 tracks are reminiscent of epic Black Metal, not Lord of the Rings epic, but majestic and warrior like, I reckon! The one who paints images of medieval scenarios, always with emphasis on guitar work, quite prominently ("Behind the Curtain of Death" is an excellent example of such). The tracks are relatively long, all over 5 minutes long, but at no point do we feel that we are being driven by annoyance. Fans of Polish Black Metal, you must check this work!

Azzaya – “Thy Satanick Ascension” (2021)

Turkey, Greece and Portugal. This tripartite entity presents us its debut album, in its formative year, and it was totally unknown to me until this moment. The Portuguese edge of this triangle was part of a Lisbon band called Malade (another unknown). 

What information do we have then? It's Black Metal, and it's aggressive. The first track welcomes us effusively, and gifts us the Black / Death hybrid formula (something I don't like, let's be honest), but from here on we have a set of songs more in line with Black Metal... In certain moments we have a lot of influence from the Finnish school, in others I can discern a little bit of Marduk (current), but we always have a very visceral performance. Impiety fans will also find elements of interest here. You can thus have a little idea of ​​what colors these Azzaya are “painted”. 

This line of Black Metal is not very recurrent in Portugal, and in a way the band is not entirely Portuguese, so I don't even know how to handle this case ahahah anyway, and since Necrobode, Barbarian Horde and more, the national Black Metal scene, more given to the “Black Witchery / Blasphemy” vision, has been gaining strength, and these Azzaya, although not belonging to the War Black Metal faction, will certainly be of interest to many fans of this sub-genre.

“Evoking the Rites of Sabbath” shows a band that will still bring us a lot of joy... or belligerent moments, it depends on the perspective.

Reviews originally written for World of Metal (World of Metal) and Metal Imperium (Metal Imperium)