Antediluvian - Through The Cervix Of Hawwah

Finals are coming to an end, meaning I can finally update on a regular basis soon! Get excited. I'll be updating two-three times a day to make up for the shit I missed. Meanwhile enjoy one of 2011's best.

Unpredictable and cavernous, alien but all-too-familiar, Antediluvian stirred up the bowels of creation and shit primordial soup all over my face with this glorious 2011 release, Through The Cervix Of Hawwah. The murkiness of this release isn't a testament to Incantation as it seems to be for a lot of death metal in 2011, and instead it builds an atmosphere described only by the words "archaic" and "fucking awesome."

After Antediluvian's barely mediocre 2010 release Watchers' Reign I was less than thrilled to sit through another forgettable death metal album. Through The Cervix Of Hawwah is Antediluvian doing a full 180, exploring tasteful tempo changes, fun time signatures, and a degree of dark brutality that is unmatched by anyone that isn't fellow Canadians Mitochondrion. As opposed to the completely ritualistic, cult-like feel of their rivals' music, Antediluvian's atmosphere is significantly less droning and evil, and more bizarre and amorphous. Vague descriptions aside, this stuff is killer. "Intuitus Mortuus" is the very meaning of abyssal and that riff at around ~30 seconds gets me every time. Songs like "Gomorrah Entity (Perversion Reborn)" features dissonances that all coalesce into a sonic maelstrom that pulls you down into the centre of the earth. This isn't the only song with those traits either, as pretty much every track on Through The Cervix Of Hawwah shares this atmosphere, making it a coherent and enjoyable record from start to finish.

As with most bands of this style, there's a lot of black metal influence in the drumming, and ironically it's also where most of the brutality comes from with the winding blastbeats and fills. Running at a mere 36:16, Through The Cervix Of Hawwah is the perfect length for this intense black/death metal, and it keeps the album from feeling exhausting. The high-gain guitar and the organic feel of the production really pounds home that "Abyss Of Organic Matter" feel (dohoho). Easily one of the best releases of 2011, you'd have to be a degenerate to not pick this up.

9.0 out of 10


Tracklisting:

1.	Rephaim Sceptre...
2.	...Through the Cervix of Hawaah
3.	Intuitus Mortuus
4.	Scions of Ha Nachash (Spectre of the Burning Valley)
5.	From Seraphic Embrace
6.	Luminous Harvest
7.	Turquoise Infidel
8.	Gomorrah Entity (Perversion Reborn)
9.	Erect Reflection (Abyss of Organic Matter)

Blut Aus Nord - 777 - The Desanctification

Blut Aus Nord already has two albums in the 777 trilogy under their belt: 777 - Sect(s) and 777 - The Desanctification. The first featured dizzying guitar leads, chromatic riffing, and was interestingly coined the "spiritual sequel to The Work Which Transforms God." I don't know if I agree with that statement since The Work Which Transforms God might be my favorite Blut Aus Nord album, but Sect(s) is certainly worthy of the distinction. I posted a few months back about The Desanctification, and now that it's out, it might just be time to review it.

What an album cover. Kind of has that psychedelic cult, almost mystical vibe to it. It certainly fits the music pretty well. Knowing that this is an "experimental" Blut Aus Nord album (what else would you expect from French black metal?), this album works well as a whole. The Desanctification is naturally a continuation of Sect(s), but with a bit more atmosphere and less flashy leads. Some of the tracks are a bit long-winded and dragging, while others completely envelop you in the sound of primordial chaos.

And if this is the sound of chaos, it sounds oh-so-good. Songs like "Epitome VIII" exemplify this perfectly. There's aggressive drumming, winding riffs, interesting time signatures, and triumphant leads that all meld together over the span of six minutes. "Epitome VIII" is probably the most vocal-intensive track on The Desanctification as well, although the vocals kind of take a back seat to all of the riffing and serve as the atmospheric equivalent of a subtle synth. Not that they're programmed or fake or anything, but they really don't stand out at all. This holds true for the rest of the album as well.

If that doesn't bother you, then you may be in for a treat if you can get over the droning boredom of certain tracks. The opener contains a memorable riff that drags on for a bit too long. That's a recurring complaint throughout all of The Desanctification and one I can't forgive them for. These guys are clearly talented musicians and know how to write some unique material, but beating a riff to death in the name of atmosphere is something that irks me to no end. On another note there's some powerful dissonance on "Epitome X" and some interesting industrial sounds on "Epitome XI," although once again the latter drags a bit. The finale, "Epitome XIII" is probably the best single track on the album and the only one to really rival "Epitome VIII." The track takes all the twisting, winding riffy goodness and combines those traits with atonal chromaticism (a recurring theme for sure, but here it's done so well). It blends all the sounds explored by Blut Aus Nord perfectly. If only the rest of the album were as memorable and less boring.

7.25 out of 10
EDIT: I shouldn't review when I'm so damn tired. So many errors in this one.


Tracklisting:

1. Epitome VII
2. Epitome VII
3. Epitome IX
4. Epitome X
5. Epitome XI
6. Epitome XII
7. Epitome XIII