I feel guilt whenever labels ship me their albums and I am unable to review them all.  That’s most often the case, but hell, I do what I can. One of the most consistent labels has always been Moribund Cult, the satanic company out of Washington state that’s been dealing with extreme metal since 2003.  Their fine press man Nathan never fails to send me their material (even though I may have missed a couple…like Leviathan) so I thought it would be a good idea to get up to speed with some of their latest releases. It’s hard to keep up with them, I must add.  The Moribund Cult is as prolific as their music is evil. Just try to keep up with their pace. Read on and spread the word.

The trio Azaghal hails from the cold land of Finland and they used to go by the Belfegor moniker. For obvious reasons the name had to go. Omega is their seventh full-length since their formation in 1995 and if you think that means they are hard workers, well, let me tell you, that doesn’t even start to describe how quick these motherfuckers are. Azaghal’s full discography includes three demos, three EP’s, nine splits and two compilations so you would have thunk that by the time they got around to their ninth album they would have a clue about cool artwork, but nope. Omega jumped at me because the cover depicts a skeletical baby Jesus and a very ghostly and ghastly Mary, all drawn with beginner’s finesse. But we’ve all heard about black metal aesthetics. What lies inside though, is quite chilling. For all their killer riffs, the blinding speed and frosty vocals Azaghal write pretty efficient black metal.  The melodies stay there, perfectly engraved through their fast and slow passages and with synthesizers providing an unsettling backdrop Azaghal surprise by their accessibility. Whether they like it or not.

I Shalt Become is one of those one man type of bands that are so popular these days in the black metal scene. Requiem is S. Holliman’s (that’s I Shalt Become’s mastermind) third full-length and it clearly reveals the author’s fascinations with both the Norwegian old school (misty forests anyone?) and the more atmospheric new school leanings. It’s good stuff, especially for those who seek to escape the ordinary conventionalities of what is commonly known as black metal. Requiem reveres in its dead pace; slow passages creep up from under you, atmosphere is more important than violence, the guitar playing doesn’t slay, its notes are clear instead, the sense of orchestration is frail and the vocals are placed way in the back making them not only unsettling but quite subliminal. The Burzum influence is all over the place. So is the doom and shoegaze influence.

One quick look at the discography of most Norwegian bands and it seems as if every one them has been in the game since the early 90’s. Either that or I am an ignorant fool. Probably the latter. Antikosmos is Arckanum’s fourth full-length but this Mora one man band has been spewing blasphemy since 1993. The label marketed Antikosmos as Arckanum’s first album in 10 years, which technically it is because their last full length was 1998’s Kampen, but in the meantime they also released three EP’s, two splits and a Best of compilation.  All the same because Arckanum sounds very fucking primitive. In other words, they sound as if they were stuck in time. Which is good news in the black metal world.  The vocals for instance are quite clear, almost as if no one had bothered to inform soleman Shamaatae that you could go all the way creep by now. The music is also pretty old school, leaning for speed and proclaiming its evil spirit through buzzsaw riffs and scant drumming.

Wrath may not like me but I like his artistic expression as Dodsferd quite a bit. Matter of fact, it may just be that he doesn’t like anyone. This misanthropic Greek dude has a discography that’s worth of admiration. When I interviewed him (via e-mail) a couple of years ago he was quite …err…black metal I guess. His answers were very concise in his very own way as to not really answering my questions. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, ‘mystery is overrated’. Wrath even got pissed when I said that I found some of his music to be beautiful but shit, it is. I admire his riffing. Wrath seems to extricate true melancholic feelings out of his axe and despite all that he may claim about his hate towards everyone and everything I find some of the material in Death Set the Beginning of My Journey to be based on nostalgia rather than hate. But who knows, Wrath’s vocal delivery is just innards splashed in your windshield. How is he still going by the third song is beyond me. It sounds as if Wrath hates all so much he is willing to sacrifice his voice for the sake of his satanic art.

Blood Stained Dusk hail from Alabama and have at their mike vocalist Pest who was once the main blasphemer in Gorgoroth and Obtained Enslavement. This band has bad luck which in black metal terms might just be considered very fucking good luck, who knows. Two of their ex members died so Black Faith Inquisition comes four years after their sophomore album Continuance of Evil and word on the street is they are America’s best kept secret. Well if so, then we must be in very bad stance. Blood Stained Dusk are an utter mess and this record blows in more ways than one. Not only is their sloppy black metal unprofessional and tedious, but listening to this trio’s music proves that trying your hand at too many things can only show your shortcomings. Black Faith Inquisition is one bloated motherfucker, where the songs sound out of proportion to the music and the music simply sucks. The guy in charge of the keyboards is Thorgin and my recommendation would be to either take a class or dump his Casio instrument in the nearest trash can. This shit is cheesy and boring.   

Finland’s Horna are unstoppable. It may not be that all their material is of the highest quality but what do you expect? Only in this decade this hateful quintet has managed to birth about thirteen splits, six EP’s, one live album, three compilations and about five full-lengths. And I suck at counting so it is possible I may be missing a few. Sanojesi Äärelle sounds like it was written with their liver in one hand and bile in their water cups. The vocals of Corvus are just hysterical and even though the hyper riffing avoids all hooks and imagination, the guitars also manage to transmit quite the electricity. It also sounds like Sanojesi Äärelle may have been written in the span of one afternoon as most of the nine songs present certain dull uniform sound. In other words, one song would have sufficed. Doing some quality control may do ‘em good.

I really like the artwork of Necronoclast’s (pictured above) third full-length Haven. I also commend the fella for making his one man band sounding like an actual group of people. Too many of those bedroom projects end up sounding just like that, instead Necronoclast sounds like four or five dudes jamming it out in the garage, lights out, a bit of smoke, some crack, a pint of whiskey and a ouija board. That said, while listening to Necronoclast I thought of Dodsferd because Haven actually does sound like the absolute result of an absolute misanthrope who absolutely hates everyone and wants to let his feelings transgress our souls. There is nothing pretty about Haven, at times the man sounds fixated with speed, at others he dirges on as if he was portraying into sound his own via crucis.