Label: Iron Bonehead
Clocking in at just over 22 minutes, the new EP from Singapore’s warring Black/Death trio Nechbeyth is a blood-smeared fist in the face of organized religion. Following in the footsteps of fellow countrymen Impiety, Nechbeyth blaze their path of destruction with a cacophony of atom-splitting riffs, ball-busting percussion, and a profane, alternating vocal attack that singes the brow with its highs and crushes the skull with its lows. Bass? Can’t make out a damn thing and on a record like this, that’s just fine. Sure, a more defined low end could provide more “umph”, but a lack of bass is something of an accepted nuance in Black Metal, and with the old school style this band evokes, it’s all about the whirlwind of flesh searing riffs.
Coerce Creed opens with an intro that aptly prepares its listener for the barrage ahead with eerie synth and a voiceover detailing the horrid effects of a nuclear explosion, thereby already painting a picture that is positively apocalyptic in nature. And a nuclear assault it truly is, as Nechbeyth pulverize the tenuous comforts of man with their unrelenting, unholy doctrine of brutal supremacy from track to track, never slowing down and always building momentum. This is really where this release finds its staying power as well. It comes and goes in a hurry, but is by no means forgettable as the material put forth flows incredibly well and delivers its message in concise fashion.
By the time you reach the penultimate track “Coerce Axiom,” your adrenaline is pumping and you’re chomping at the bit, craving yet another escalation of the bands savagery. And disappoint this track does not. In fact, it’s my favorite off the EP because not only does it reach a kind of apex moment in fierce barbarity, but it also perfectly represents the release as a whole: it’s short (just under three minutes), aggressive as fuck and excels at creating the sensation of an ever-expanding shockwave.
Coerce Creed finds its explosive conclusion and resultant fallout in the closing track “Lynch Directive,” which sufficiently finishes the job and trails off into the barren landscape aided by a steady rumbling sound, presumably, over eviscerated victims and scurrying cockroaches. The band’s strange name derives from an Egyptian goddess named “Nekhbet” that was depicted in art as being a vulture, and in the wake of this devastating collection of songs, it’s clear that Nechbeyth intend to pick the bones clean.
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