Although this release has been out for some time now, we’re only just catching up with the darkly magical delights of Weapon . ‘From the devil’s tomb’ is the band’s first full-length release for Agonia records, a label that consistently signs strong and unique bands, and Weapon do not disappoint on this front. Fronted by Vetis Monarch, a well-travelled and starkly intelligent writer who utilises his experiences from a life spent between Canada and Bangladesh with all of the cultural diversity that such travel must have revealed, Weapon produce explosive, dark, intelligent metal that claws its way into your brain and hammers away at your senses with a malicious glee.
Opening with the title track, which features a corrosive guitar overlaid with all manner of strange instrumentation, it’s a slow, grinding introduction to the album recalling the none-more-brutal opening of Slayer’s underrated ‘diabolous in musica’ album, which sees the temp gradually build into a full-blown fury that takes off in a swirl of double kick drum and ludicrously fast riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on Behmoth’s ‘demigod’. Thoroughly blistering, it’s like being caught in a maelstrom with sand and razor-sharp winds piercing your senses while the roar and noise of the whirlwind obliterates your perception of the outside world. A lengthy, multi-faceted opening it is clear from the off that Weapon are no ordinary band with an almost (whisper it) progressive feel to the ebb and flow of their dark missives from the underworld although the overall feel remains relentlessly heavy.
After such a monumental opening, the shorter ‘vested in surplice and violet stole’ is relatively svelte at a mere five minutes but it does the job by upping the ante in terms of speed with the band orchestrating a savage attack shot through with quieter moments which offer up a dynamic to the music that never allows it all to blur into one, a danger with some speed merchants who miss the value of slowing things down a touch so that the ensuing blast will have the more power. Weapon, however, are veteran who know how to temper a great riff so that it has maximum impact, as they clearly demonstrate here. ‘Furor divinus’ eschews subtlety to rip the flesh still remaining on your bones straight off in a flurry of brutal drumming and icy riffing designed to inflict maximum damage. Winning the award for most traditional blast of black metal is the icy fury of ‘vortex 11724’ which sees the band create a claustrophobic wave of hated which consumes everything in its path.
The oddly titled ‘lefthandpathyoga’ follows, and, after the lengthy, dark vortex of the previous track it comes as something of a light relief that it opens with a beautifully recorded acoustic passage rather than another seething attack on the senses. Although dense and resoundingly heavy, there are strong melodies shot through the track and the relief of tension is palpable. However, any such feelings are short-lived as ‘the inner wolf’ is almost eight minutes of pure malevolent genius laid bare for all to see and ‘lefthand…’ merely provides a bridge between the first and second half of the record. With unusual chord structures, a doom-laden opening passage ‘the inner wolf’ is a firm highlight of this already astonishing disc and it highlights both the talent and inventiveness of the band that they can take the blackened death metal template and give it such a rousing shake-up. The remaining three tracks are equally impressive. ‘Sardonyx’ is of a similar length to its forebear but it contains an introduction that sees the use of all sorts of unusual instrumentation, expertly played and addind a new dimension to the black metal sound. While the remainder of the song is a more traditionally orientated melee of furious riffs and vocals torn from the depths of hell, the small details that become more noticeable over time, such as the gloriously unconventional percussion, are what will keep you coming back to this incredible album. ‘Trishul’ also stands out but for markedly different reasons. Betraying a love of more traditional metal stylings, the track echoes elements of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Motorhead and Dark throne for a refreshingly old-school spin on black metal and the track brings to mind nothing more than early Therion, before the symphonic elements took hold. Final track ‘towards the uncreated’ closes out things with a huge sweeping, symphonic opening that devolves into a primitive mire of brutal guitars and growls that is 9/10ths black metal, 1/10th Twisted sister via Dimmu Borgir with its astonishingly memorable riffs still defiantly present amidst the heavier, more misanthropic elements.
Weapon have created a brutal, gleaming, utterly brilliant album in ‘from the devil’s tomb’. Intelligent and well-written, not a single riff or instrument is out of place while the lengthier tracks justify their run-time with jaw-dropping tempo changes and mood swings. For fans of black metal this will be an album to champion, while for those who are even mildly curious as to what the fascination with this timeless genre is, this is an excellent place to start. A work of stunning brilliance, this is awesome.
