The Beast of the Apocalypse

A Voice From the Four Horns of the Golden Altar

Transcendental Creations 2009

At every turn these Dutch black metallers practice a sort of dualism, at once raw and primitive while at the same time progressive and avantgarde.  The packaging for the promo reflects this aesthetic with a complex origami folded bio sheet and a monochrome color scheme.  A wall of noisy traditional black metal, not unlike Beherit meets Gorgoroth, greets on Etemenaki: Temple of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth.  But the mentally unbalanced side of this beast tears down its own facade as it lurches into bizarre synths passages with strange drum patterns and demonic layered vocals.  This creates a similar feel to and also implies an association with countrymates, Gnaw Their Tongues.  The uncanny synths are even more pronounced on the next track, The Key To the Bottomless Pit, and add a ghostly shadow to the lightning fast, fuzzed out black metal and slower atmospheric riffing.  The track's middle section devolves into new realms of skin-crawling dementia and psychosis if only for a short period before the plodding black metal reclaims its stranglehold on the song.  Darkthrone-ish riffs are mutated through use of a thick, slimy bass guitar on the titletrack and the Gnaw Their Tongues comparisons bloom into their putrid glory.  Claustrophobic riffs and sinister, horrifying synths rise like moldy subterranean walls.  Middle Eastern ritualistic samples and a bassy pulse serve to both illuminate and shroud our minds with mysterious textures.  The Hypothasis of the Archons utilizes bulldozer black metal riffs, a la Beherit, and crushes you beneath the weight of the guitars for what is likely the most straightforward of the tracks on the album.  Twins of Jesus brings proceedings to a close.  Angelic keys contrast with the pitch-black metal, swirling like a pot of slowly stirred malevolence.  Tripped out drum patterns cause the listener to stumble on his way to his own spiritual Gologatha only to be greeted by demonic vocals of the most demonic disposition.  Female Indian vocals and a hellish beat create another landscape, both alien and enticing.  My best description for Beast of the Apocalypse is a hideous hybrid of the sinister psychosis of Gnaw Their Tongues and fuzzy, primitive black metal in the Beherit and Gorgoroth vein.  A perfectly balanced leviathan of evil and duality rising from the sea of esoteric and artistic annihilation.