In what can be described as a field recording of a hellmouth tearing the earth asunder, Antediluvian make their full length debut on Profound Lore with Through the Cervix of Hawwah. Canada’s Antediluvian have already made their mark on the death metal scene with their early demos which promised a primitive, chaotic form of death metal. Through the Cervix of Hawaah delivers on the promise, offering listeners a tremendously complex, utterly unhinged form of death metal, amping up the legacy of bands like Portal and Mitochondrion to the next level. This record is almost psychedelic in it’s utter chaos; reminiscent of Deathspell Omega, but drawing upon a completely different musical legacy. As a whole it can be a daunting listen; nine tracks long and each a complete journey in and of themselves, this is a record that requires a close and loud listening to truly appreciate.
Beneath the wall of terror lies some incredibly intricate instrumental work. Take for example the titular “…Through the Cervix of Hawwah”. Opening with brutal blast beats and frantic guitar work it rapidly mutates into a near grindcore sound before a warped and distorted guitar solo drops in, then disappears into a sludgy breakdown. As we approach the end vocals merge and distort into a horrid echo, manipulated into something not of this earth. “Scions of Ha Nacash (Spectre of the Burning Valley)” is another track showcasing this bands dynamics. An utterly insane, purely progressive death riff drives the song, before dropping into a slowed down, traditional death metal riff. It’s this ability to both reference the classic and the forward thinking that makes this album particularly compelling. Production wise it walks the line between lo-fi and clean, maintaining a sludgy, brutal sound, without losing anything in the mix. This is an impressive feat considering just how much is going on here. Though originally a duo, Antediluvian have evolved into a fourpiece, and the additional members contribute much to the albums soundscape.
[audio:http://staging.cvltnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/04-Scions-of-Ha-Nachash-Spectre-of-the-Burning-Valley.mp3|titles=Antediluvian Scions of Ha Nachash (Spectre of the Burning Valley)]
Read the rest of the review after the jump!
Even more straightforward tracks, like “From Seraphic Embrace”, which eschews the progressive style for a much more classic death metal sound, have a lot going on in them. Twin vocals, one traditional death metal growls, the other throat gurgling black metal, interplay before the song goes off the rails midway through, the riff devolving into utter insanity as the drums blast out at machinegun speed. “Luminous Harvest”, which follows, trades off between slow and fast at such an off kilter pace it makes the listener feel uneasy, as though there’s something fundamentally wrong about what’s going on here. It calls to mind the psychic horror of Beherit’s Drawing Down the Moon, both albums trudging along like Lovecraftian behemoths. Working within the confines of the genre, but warping and distorting them until they’re utterly unrecognizable is one of Antediluvian’s biggest accomplishments. Album closer, “Erect Reflection (Abyss of Organic Matter)” is a clear highlight on this record. After blasting through the intro, the drum beat collapses into simple bass kick trading off with the guitar, before both slowly begin to build to a climax, which hits like a volcanic eruption. Guttural vocals merge with a raging, almost punk sounding riff (for a moment at least), before the entire thing blows apart into an unhinged battle for supremacy over the track. Every musician on here is in top form. Drums, a nearly jazzy, progressive death inflected base for every assault, guitar and bass remarkably complex, looking back to the glory days of technical death metal, even the vocals on here are pure evil, gurgling and raw, driving each track.
Antediluvian’s invocation of an atmosphere of pure brutality is a powerful statement in todays death metal scene. Utterly trampling the pseudo-death that has become so popular as of late, Antediluvian have easily claimed their spot amongst the greats of modern death metal. Easily one of the most crushing releases of the year, Through the Cervix of Hawwah is currently available to order from Profound Lore, with an official release date of November 22nd.
New Comments