Abhorration – Demonolatry (Decrepitly Genuinely Evil Blackened Death Metal)
Hahahah, ah haahahaha, AH HAHAAHAHAH. This murders. I kind of figured it would. Satanic beast on cover? Doesn’t look typical, does it? There’s this decreptitude to its look, like it’s tired, but still willing to torment and destroy. See, it looks typical, until you grasp that those empty eyes are digging deep into your being. I actually felt a bit of dread creeping over my soul, and made sure my phone had the screen alit with that creature staring out as I listened through the first full-length of Norways Abhorration, Demonolatry. Got to make sure people wonder what kind of horrors I listen to as I belt out serious squat power. Anyway, let’s get evil and learn from whence that power arises.
Holy hell this is just insane. I plagiarized that, by the way, just scraping it off a Bandcamp review. Though technically Demonolatry was released in September and October of this year, with the vinyl not dropping until November 1st, it gave me an excuse to review instead of pass. Phew, just made it! But there’s no doubt that what I read is true, and let’s borrow, ahem, or steal someone else’s reference to explain. There’s certainly an element of early Morbid Angel here, since everyone keeps dropping that name (something I shy from mostly), but Abhorration are far more devious with how they play. Gone are the anti-Christian days for the sake of being anti-Christian. That doesn’t scare anymore; just tossing around pentagrams and upside-down crosses is like a crucifix before a centuries-old vampire – just doesn’t work anymore. Here, instead, we find with Demonolatry an Old World approach that hearkens back to an earlier period of death metal, yet infuses it with more darkness while combining, thematically, an approach much like knifing open a moldered copy of The Magus to see if it really brings something evil into existence. This is old school evil here, but not the stereotypical form it usually takes. Abhorration feels genuinely spiteful, and evil from birth, not by choice. Violent, turbulent, and destructive is how they play, and its effects will poison your sense of self.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Abhorration – Demonolatry
Invictus Productions
Cover Art: Kristian Valbo (Rolf Kristian Valbo, RK Valbo)
