REVIEWS' ATTACK #9: Wømb/Systemik Viølence/Sodomic Baptism/Eigengrau/Malichor

Hey brutalbangers,
this is a long reviews' attack since it is about 5 bands that ranges from the raw black metal to the Satanic death metal, and this time there is even a little bit of punk/HC but played in a very special manner, as you'll understand very soon. In other words, there is a bunch to read today, so, let's start and...

ENJOY THESE REVIEWS!!!

Band: Wømb
Title: Taciturn
Genre: Raw Black Metal with Crust Punkish vibes
Label: Purodium Rekords
Time: 14 min
Year: 5th July 2018
Rating: 75/100











Some days ago I reviewed the fantastic and surprising comeback of Ruach Raah. Now, the time has come to review also the new delirium of Wømb, that 2 years ago released an holocausting split just with Ruach Raah. And again, Wømb impressed me a fuckin' lot!

Comprised of 7 tracks, "Taciturn" is another journey in the raw, cruel, chaotic and freezing black metal of these two hateful Portuguese demons. The songs are played with an incredible intensity also thanks to scrapping crust punkish vibes. Another consequence of these influences is that we're talking about short songs that lasts only 1 - 2 minutes, so you have to expect to listen to very furious numbers like the 65 seconds of total assault (but its last 15 seconds are in silence) of "Master/Slave" but, to say the truth, Wømb are able even to create more structured and longer episodes such as "Ritual Union Through Sex Magick" (that contains some doomish tempos).

But what's really great in this EP is that its songs has strong LLN-tunes ala Belketre (have you present their split with Vlad Tepes?) with the result that they can give to you the frightful impression that, by listening to them, Satan has going to devour your souls. And I think you'll like so much this "frightful impression" if you adore the black metal in the now classic Portuguese-style!

Purodium Rekords: https://purodium.bigcartel.com/

Band: Systemik Viølence
Title: Anarquia-Violencia
Genre: Raw D-Beat Hardcore Punk with (Black) Metallic Tunes
Label: Raw'n'Roll Rex
Time: 11 min circa
Year: 2nd April 2018
Rating: 76/100











Somewhere in Lisbon, Portugal, there are 4 metallic punkers with a clear mission in their own depraved minds: making punk dangerous again and killing all the fukken posers of the scene. Wearing ski masks and individually known through absurd Japanese pseudonyms like Iggy Musӓshi (the singer) or Zëusu Bäsuku (the bassplayer), they are going to play since 2016 under the sacrilegious and anarchist banner of Systemik Viølence. And believe me that they are terrorizing very well the stupid posers!

After a split with Dokuga and a debut album in 2017, "Anarquia-Violencia" is their new EP. If I am not mistaken, its title is a homage to "Anarchy Violence", a bootleg 7'' of the infamous Japanese HC maniacs G.I.S.M.. Anyway, "Anarquia-Violencia" consist of 7 tracks in which there is a very interesting mix of various influences. In fact, you will be crushed by a really outrageous, irreverent, dirty and dusty d-beat hardcore punk played through darkened tunes very close to the (proto)-black metal, as shown, for instance, by the Hellhammer-ish vibes of "Crapitalismo", and also by the diabolic vocals of the singer that is a perfect combination between Cronos, Thomas Gabriel Warrior and Athenar (of Midnight). Every song is fast, short and intense, ranging from the apocalytic Discharge/Anti-Cimex mood of "Pérolas a Posers" (some songs are in Portuguese) to the rockish "Male Dumbinance" or to the more dynamic "Crapitalismo", that's my favorite and whose the band made also a funny video (have you ever made a breakfast with cereals and...beer?). In addition, the tracks are introduced (and sometimes ended) by speeches taken from somewhere.

Motörhead, Discharge, Anti-Cimex, Venom, Hellhammer, G.I.S.M., Zouo, Outo...FUCK, you can hear everything about raw extreme metal and HC music into Systemik Viølence, that have created their own style even though they are remained mentally in the '80s! And, incredibly, we're talking about a style that can be fit also for everyone into stuff like Midnight, Shitfuckers, Whipstriker and similar acts. Now, there is need to say that the band will play at the 2018 edition of Lé de Ladrào Fest (a Portuguese HC festival) scheduled on 13th October. But, surely, it would be fukken nice if Systemik Viølence will manage to play here in Rome, also because I would like to buy, directly from them, their amazing "Total. Poser. Annihilation" Revenge tribute t-shirt. NO ESCAPE FOR THE POSERS, SYSTEMIK VIØLENCE ARE BACK TO DESTROY YOU!!!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/systemikviolence/
Bandcamp: https://systemikviolence.bandcamp.com/
Raw'n'Roll Rex: https://rawnrollrex.bandcamp.com/

Band: Sodomic Baptism
Title: Black Fire Pandemonium
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Iron, Blood and Death Corporation
Time: 38 min
Year: 12th December 2017
Rating: 69/100












Classic Satanic death fukken metal ala Deicide/Morbid Angel for these Sodomic Baptism, a duo of metallic brothers (by name and by fact) from Belarus whose "Black Fire Pandemonium" represent their debut album.

Conceptually focused on the Unholy Trinity formed by Samael, Lilith Nahema and the Cradle ov Nahemoth, "Black Fire Pandemonium" shows through its 7 songs (plus the atmospheric intermezzo called "Daimos. The Descent of Darkness (Part 1)) a good variety in which the Tetin bros use sometimes elements like clean vocals, acoustic guitars and keyboards. These last ones give to the music very dark tunes, as perfectly exemplified by "Conception of the Beast", that's an unusual track for a band of this kind because it's slow, eerie, simple and also very long considering its 8 minutes of lenght. Anyway, I think that this song is too stylistically different from the others since it seem to be played by another band, so it could be better through a sound more coherent with the features of Sodomic Baptism. At the contrary, "Legio Noctis", another lenghty song, is undoubtedly my favorite one due to a more complex approach.

So, this album is not bad but it's a shame that it consist only of songs yet all released in the past productions of the band. In addition, these two guys used a drum-machine but, even though it has been programmed well, I suggest to them to find a real drummer for their future releases to come. Sorry, but my hate towards the drum-machine is atavistic...

P.S.: now the band, as you see through the pic, is a trio thanks to the addition of a second guitarist in the person of SP.

P.S. 2: Sodomic Baptism, in the past, made some promotional videos for their songs like this one about "Samael: Angel ov Death".

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SodomicBaptism
Bandcamp: http://sodomicbaptism.bandcamp.com/
Iron, Blood and Death Corporation: http://ibdclabel666.bigcartel.com/

Band: Eigengrau
Title: Sentence
Genre: Raw Noise/Black Metal
Label: Hammerkrieg Productions
Time: 24 min
Year: 5th May 2018
Rating: 54/100












You know, Australia has one of the most extreme metal scenes in the world, and Bestial Warlust, that I started to adore after I bought their "Vengeance War Till Death" at a now defunct metal store in Rome, is one of my favorite extreme bands. So, it's not surprising that Eigengrau (that contacted me after reading my review about Hak-Ed Damm) comes from Australia...but it's really surprising their extremely sick will to destroy every fukken trace of mental sanity of the listeners!

They dub their music as "Occult Black Metal" but, for me, this definition doesn't describe in its entirety their immense madness shown in these 4-track EP called "Sentence". Ok, it's occult thanks to the cryptically esoteric and Crowleyan themes but, in a more specific manner, theirs is a raw and collapsing Noise/black metal characterized by a totally disturbing mood. This is mostly due to the completely absurd and drunken vocals of Ariadne Azazel and Skolopendra that, strange but true, vomit in (almost) EVERY fukken second in the most unthinkable and crazier ways!

But, if the intentions are interesting, the result is disappointing. This because the vocals are too invasive and also too high in the mix if compared with the guitars and also with the drum-machine. The consequence is that these instruments seem to be in a total background zone at benefiting the vocal department. So, I think Eigengrau mustn't insistently use the vocal fury in order to develop better a more musical discourse. And I believe that this (moderately) happens only in the last song "Blood Milk" (the only one with a real title since the others are called through Roman numbers), that's also somehow melodic and has a some sort of harsh hoise intro. Hence, my judgment about "Sentence" is unfortunately negative...but it's really possible that it will make happy some masochist people that love to be tortured until their psychological annihilation with similar not-of-this-Earth projects like the Italians Progetto:ChaosGoat.666!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Eigengrau888/
Bandcamp: https://eigengrau888.bandcamp.com/
Hammerkrieg Productions: http://hammerkrieg.blogspot.com/

Band: Malichor
Title: Nightmare and Abominations
Genre: Black/Thrash Metal
Label: Iron, Blood and Death Corporation
Time: 35 min
Year: 31st January 2018
Rating: 84/100












Here there is another Aussie band but with a more traditional approach to conceive the extreme metal! I am talking about Malichor, a quintet born in 2007 under the moniker of Myth whose "Nighmare and Abominations" has arrived only now in Anno Satanas 2018. Better late than never!

"Nightmares and Abominations" is a triumph of hyperspeed black/thrash metal in the vein of Nifelheim, Kreator, Desaster and Bloodlust through its 8 new tracks. Their lyrics aren't devoted to celebrate, as usual, the Lord of Darkness but to tell the abominable stories written by H.P. Lovecraft (just as Dig Me No Grave, a Russian death metal band reviewed on these pages some months ago). Malichor love so much the blast-beats that they are able to reach really demented speeds as perfectly shown by "Vile Ichor", surely the most violent song in the album. At the same time, they have a nice melodic taste close to the classic heavy metal, especially regarding the guitar solos (like the one, awesome and very long, of "Sentinels"), so their technical skills are unquestionable. These last ones let to the band to create songs with a great personality like the same "Sentinels" (melodic and somehow epic but furious), "Rise of the Ancient" (with freezing black metal moments) and the surprisingly atmospheric "Descent into Madness", that ends the album through slow tempos impregnated with a sulphurous mood.

So, I liked very much this debut album, especially with songs like "Sentinels" (that's a real masterpiece for my broken ears!), "Vile Ichor" and "Rise of the Ancient". But now I hope that we mustn't wait for other 11 years to listen to the sophomore album of Malichor! For the moment, who lives in the far far away Australia has to know that Malichor will play for their first time in Sidney at 22nd September 2018 along with Bastardizer, Viölence and The Corps.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/malichor
Iron, Blood and Death Corporation: http://ibdclabel666.bigcartel.com/