In the overcrowded world of extreme black metal you’d best be doing something special if you wish to be lifted above the teeming morass of mediocrity and what better way than to enlist the help of Garghuf (he of Gorgoroth fame) and Archaon (1349), for this is precisely what Italian crew Nefarium have done.
Crafting an album which rages over a relatively short 39 minutes, Nefarium have created a brutal, searing vision of misanthropy with the savage highlights coming thick and fast in an album which, unusually for the genre, is expertly produced to give each track the maximum impact; and impact it does. First track ‘tongue of the first pope’ throws itself at the listener, aiming squarely for the jugular. As blast beats rattle past and the hectic pace of the guitar induces a state of near-hysteria it’s easy to miss the elements that work under the song, like the synth melodic synth line which underpins the whole thing with an immense gravitas missing from some Nefarium’s more tinnily produced competitors. Carnifex’s throat-ripping screams are taut and brutal and the solos indicate that there’s real talent at the blackened heart of this band. ‘Hands bleeding fear’ is a personal favourite, opening with the sort of creepy pomp and ceremony that Behemoth do so well before taking off at the speed of light. Arguably the production here is a touch bass heavy, with the guitars occasionally lost in the sonic swirl, but overall it’s a powerful and relentless track. ‘The bastard son of satan’ offers the listener absolutely no quarter as it plunders the brutal depths of the black metal, again suffering from the occasional loss of clarity, but ultimately overcoming the slight production flaws through sheer force of will and an interesting grasp of dynamics. ‘Shepherd for dead lambs’ sees Adventor pushing his guitar playing skills whilst Garghuf’s drumming sees him flailing like a human octopus, in order to maintain the insane pace. Meanwhile Carnifex takes on the role of a deranged dictator, brutally exhorting the masses over the sound of the apocalypse.
‘Sharpening the spear of Longinus’ is yet another delirious attack on the senses which, while strong in and of itself, sees the production really start to grate as it not always easy to tell where one track ends and another starts. While the overall effect is rather like being trapped in a cement mixer, the admirable skills of the band demand greater attention to detail in the mix. ‘Servus servorum satanae’ is a more dynamic track offering up a slow-motion opening, underpinned by thunderous bass. Again the guitars deserve special mention and the addition of violins works far better than you would imagine. ‘Seven whores of Magdala’ returns to the brutal formula of the earlier tracks, but this is no bad thing and, if anything, it ups the ante in brutality stakes which is no mean feat. Final track ‘mass infanticide by the king of Judea’ is slower, more considered mayhem that sees the album close on a high point having snarled, thrashed and terrorised for just over half an hour.
Overall this is an album that will readily appeal to the legions of black metal fans out there as it contains all the ingredients of a cult classic. While the production is, at times, somewhat soupy, this undoubtedly fits in with the ethos of the genre and the guitars still impress while the drums are astonishing throughout. The vocals too are to be commended, never lacking in power or clarity (well as far as one can call the black metal grunt clear anyway) and the songs are, by and large, memorable chunks of pure evil. Worth tracking down.
