Throat – Blood Exaltation (Possessed Black Metal)
Can musicians, or rather a band itself, be…possessed? I feel like possession has become too trite in media, so maybe that’s not a good idea, but then again has it been done yet for bands in particular? I’ll assume not and say that Poland/Finland’s Throat is just such a band. At some point in their twisted lives they were haunted by abyss creatures and the resultant retch became this particular EP. Though Throat has little work to their name currently, with just one demo prior, Blood Exaltation instills a great sense of dread for their future work. Stay away to be persistent in purity, remain to become nefarious.
At one point in time these guys were human, but now, unfortunately, their bodies are mere vessels for something sickened. Throat makes a bitter type of black metal. It’s overlaid with harsh ambience and the vocals sound like desperate attempts at retaining humanity, yet failing quite miserably at it. At times they come in unexpected, raspy bursts, like some poor soul strapped to a bed waiting for their overtaken body to explode. Blood Exaltation is just like that. Sometimes I shy from EPs because they tend to include old material, which this does, but the inclusion of two demo tracks and two new ones, the latter degrading into the former, breathes an appalling dissonance by the end that successful drags the listener down with it.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Throat – Blood Exaltation
Godz Ov War Productions, Primitive Reaction
Cover Art: Igor Datkiewicz (Witchslaughter Artworks)
4.5 / 5
