ALBUM REVIEW: Varathron, "Patriarchs of Evil"

By: Conor O’Dea

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/04/2018

Label: Agonia Records

This is an album that gets better on every listen - there are depths here to appreciate, and it is a joyous triumph of an opus. 

“Patriarchs of Evil” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Tenebrous
2. Into the Absurd
3. Luciferian Mystical Awakening
4. Saturnian Sect
5. Remnants of the Dark Testament
6. Hellwitch (Witches Gathering)
7. Orgasmic Nightmares of the Arch Desecrator
8. Ouroboros Dweller (The Dweller of Barathrum)

The Review:

There Charon stands, who rules the dreary coast –
A sordid god: down from his hairy chin
A length of beard descends, uncombed, unclean;
His eyes, like hollow furnaces on fire;
A girdle, foul with grease, binds his obscene attire 

In the pantheon of Greek metal gods, Stefan Necroabyssious must be one of the most obvious avatars of the infamous ferryman of the dead, son of Erebos and Nyx. He has, since founding Varathron in 1988, carried many souls across Hadean waters and into the depths of the Underworld itself. “His Majesty at the Swamp” (1993), a paean to the Acheronian mire, is unanimously (and rightfully) hailed as a classic of Hellenic black metal. From this point, Varathroncontinued a nearly unabated trajectory of epic black metal excellence, with “Stygian Forces of Scorn” being, perhaps, the zenith of the first part of that journey. “Untrodden Corridors of Hades”, an album which opens with an umbral and intense musical adaptation of Eliphas Levi's Kabalistic Invocation of Solomon, marked, for me, a subtle but important transition of their sound; it is actually darker and more ominous in many ways than earlier albums - murky, threatening, malevolent and agonistic. The other side of those untrodden corridors brings us to the triumphant, utterly majestic new album, “Patriarchs of Evil”. 

I am not sure how Varathron have managed to do it, but the Homeric, definingly Hellenic sound of the earlier albums has been successfully darkened by whatever mephitic wanderings were undertaken in “Untrodden Corridors..”. The tense, shadowy and unnerving sound which I see as transitional is brought back into seamless alignment with the epic tone and timbre of His Majesty, Walpurgisnacht and Stygian Forces. Opening track “Tenebrous” scores this passage unerringly - the introduction that feels like a celebration of apotheosis, a sublimation from apostle and acolyte of evil into the position of patriarch.

One of the most affecting and beguiling aspects of this album is how it feels like an

amazing rock album, in the most superlative sense. From the aggressiveness of “Into the Absurd” to the much more classic black metal sound of “Luciferian Mystical Awakening” and “Orgasmic Nightmare of the Arch Desecrator”, from the blazing “Saturnian Sect”to the haunting “Remnants of the Dark Testament” and the soaring “Hellwitch”, there is a cosmogonic sweep to “Patriarchs of Evil” which clearly demonstrates masters of their craft at the height of their powers. 

So place an obolos in the mouth of the dead. Take the journey again with this most proficient and dreaded of ferrymen. It will become rapidly clear why Varathronare indisputably Patriarchs of Evil. This is an album that gets better on every listen - there are depths here to appreciate, and it is a joyous triumph of an opus. 

But sail upon the wind of lamentation, my friends, and about your head row with your hands' rapid stroke in conveyance of the dead, that stroke which always causes the sacred slack-sailed, black-clothed ship of Kharon to pass over Akheron to the unseen land here Apollon does not walk, the sunless land that receives all men. 

“Patriarchs of Evil” is available here

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Decrepit Birth - "Axis Mundi"

By Theron Moore

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 21/07/2017

Label:  Agonia Records |

Nuclear Blast Records

I think what we’re seeing with Decrepit Birth and “Axis Mundi,” is the future of what death metal will look like a decade from now and this new album  is the torch to light the pathway into the future.

“Axis Mundi”CD//DD//LP track listing:

1.Vortex of Infinity…Axis Mundi
2.Spirit Guide
3.The Sacred Geometry
4.Hieroglyphic
5.Transcendental Paradox
6.Mirror of Humanity
7.Ascendant
8.Epigenetic Triplicity
9.Embryogenesis
10.Orion
11.Desprate Cry
12. Infecting the Crypts

The Review:

Decrepit Birth has become a force to be reckoned with in 2017 amidst a myriad of killer death metal releases so far.  And “Axis Mundi” might just be my favorite record of the band’s career to date.  At the same time it retains every aspect of what you’d expect from a death metal release, especially one from the mighty Decrepit Birth, the production standards, the tightness of the music and the precision of how the songs are played / executed – just outstanding.  I think what we’re seeing with Decrepitand “Axis Mundi,” is the future of what this genre will look like a decade from now. 

As much as I enjoy the freestyle, almost jazz like elements of the death metal and grindcore genre, there’s a lot to be said for technical precision as well.  And this record is a fitting example of this, and dare I say, a high level of expectation for other bands to strive for.  It’s a shame that a band such as Cannibal Corpse grabs the majority of the spotlight when clearly groups such as Decrepit Birth, Haemorrhage, and Pathologyare poised and ready to accept the torch and carry on.  “Axis Mundi” is that torch to light the pathway into the future. 

The songs are brutal yet accessible and catchy as hell.  Blast beats for the sake of blast beats?  No sir, not on this record.  You’ll find a lot of aggression and a ton of brutality because the songs on “Axis Mundi” demand blood, and lots of it and Decrepit Birth are more than happy to provide that service.     

About the songs, though.  You’re not going to find the standard death metal fare regarding corpses and coffins and zombies.  Instead, the Decrepitboys smack you in the head with what I’d refer to as, part existential, and part sci-fi / fantasy conceptual songs, if that makes sense.  Here’s a quick snippet of “Sacred Geometry:”

The journey of my heart guides me..

From the dream-time eclipse of the light

Finding my way..

I follow the path of light

Into this world unknown

Within my mind

Into the universal pattern

Beyond the expanse of imagination

The pattern takes my soul

To an unknown destination

Bodiless I drift through times

Ancient sea of memories

Deep, right?  That seems to be a running theme through this record, even the more fantastical songs, if you will, have a deeper sense of being as well as meaning giving this record a certain depth that just adds to its inherent heaviness.  As you can tell, there’s a lot going on musically with this release. 

As fans we’re lucky to get this record because the band has found it’s zone, they’re firing on all cylinders and then some.  “Axis Mundi” is a well thought out record, well played, and genuine to the tee. I urge you to get this record and play it.  If you’re a fan it’ll grow on you and find a home in whatever playlist you have at the moment.  If you’re not familiar with Decrepit Birth, this is the record you need to get to know the band.  “Axis Mundi.” Another killer death metal release for 2017.

“Axis Mundi” is available here

Band info: facebook