Baxaxaxa – De Vermis Mysteriis (Cleaner and Meaner Anguished Black Metal)
Goddamn it I just love Baxaxaxaxaxaxaxaxaxaaaa but man I just can’t spell their name right still! I reviewed these guys before and it’s still a goddamn problem! Jeez! I have to check it or cut-and-paste every…single…time. Well, if anything, at least they’re back with another full-length instead of dipping back into obscure mists, and, even cooler, they’re bringing back that same grooving style of black metal that defines their more recent work, though here, with De Vermis Mysteriis, the production is cleaner and the assault, lol, meaner? Well it rhymed anyway.
Dang for how consistent these guys are I didn’t think I’d like it any more, yet I do. De Vermis Mysteriis features calmer segments and is much finer in quality than their last, Catacomb Cult, but the aggression yet remains. One thing you’re going to still enjoy here is the cleanness. You can always tell what Baxaxaxa is playing, yet now with keyboards in the front and more anguish in the delivery it features more than simple aggression. In fact, there’s much to be said about the emotional impact of black metal if it strays at least slightly from smashing the listener in the face or overwhelming the uninitiated with lo-fi rot, and De Vermis Mysteriis is the prefect example, showing maturation and freshness few bands of any genre are capable of delivering in only two releases. Some of the riffs are just, wow…
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Baxaxaxa – De Vermis Mysteriis
The Sinister Flame
Cover Art: Synod (Matthias Jahn)
4.5 / 5
