It’s no secret that I love me some chaotic and ruthless black metal. I love the Marduks and Gorgoroths, the 1349s and Tsjuders, the Urgehals and Dark Funerals. I love the hate, I love the pain, and I love the subtle melody married to the cannonade. I love how the style crushes me, bludgeons me, and pulverizes my body into a bloody, flesh soup for the earth (or Satan) to lap up. If done right, the carnage is a hearty stew that’ll shock with its flavors of braised and overly-liquored stock.1 Yet, it’ll tantalize you with the gentle flavors and fragrances of its herbs and vegetables. Infernal Execrator is one such band that enjoys beating its listeners into tenderized meat, then massages the broken flesh with salt and vinegar. Their 2014 debut, Ad Infinitum Satanic Adherent, was a nonstop bloodletter that didn’t leave much to the imagination. But this year’s Obsolete Ordinance appears to have the flavors of a midsummer stew. How rich are these flavors? And will you take of deep mastication?
Unfortunately, Ad Infinitum Satanic Adherent doesn’t have the rich layers of flavor that keep me coming back for the long haul. Just the same, the rasping vocals were respectable, the guitars were like automatic weapons, and the drums were like a panzer on an interstate murder spree. But, it lacked diversity and surprise. Sometimes that’s a good thing but, here, it makes the songs blend together. With Obsolete Ordinance, the aggressive elements of the debut remain. Now, with added touches of blackened keys, death metal pummeling, and Gorgoroth-meets-Immortal thrash licks.
“Northern Superiority,” “Supreme Barbarous Ordo,” “Obsolete Ordinance,” and closer “Absolute Celestial Condemnation” display the improved songwriting chops of the band. After three bludgeoning pieces to lead off the album, “Northern Superiority” raps on the side of this rolling tank with a thrash riff straight from the halls of Immortal. After cracking necks, a black metal riff rises to the surface. And the drums that follow provide some of the best support on the album. “Supreme Barbarous Ordo” and the title track, at first, don’t impress. But the thick layers of riffage on the former song stack to absurd heights as it progresses. The latter has a regular set of black metal blasts, but its transition into melodic territories makes it unique to the album. The closer, though, is all these elements combined. Nearing the eight-minute mark, this piece erupts from building atmospheres to lightning-fast drums and guitars. Like a roller-coaster, it rises and falls. And, each time, the drums play a part in building the song up to the massive death metal vocals and assaults. The song (and album) finally conclude in a sea of black keys and tremolo picking that harkens to Panzerchrist’s Battalion Beast.
As far as the rest of the album goes, it’s right on par with its predecessor. The three opening tracks—”Infernal Execrator (True Blasphemous Conqueror),” “Incinerate Halakhah Theorem,” and “Scions of Irreverent Bloodshed”—are the trifecta of cranial devastation. The first two tracks open with Dimmu Borgir-like keys gaining destruction through the barrage of drums, guitars, and vocals. Ultimately, the third song begins to feel repetitive, my attention span dwindles, and it’s left to “Northern Superiority” to pull me out of the trance. Other than “Scions of Irreverent Bloodshed,” there’s a small lull in the album’s midsection (“Quintessence of Timeless Void”) but the strong back-half of the record helps in the recovery.
From beginning to end, Obsolete Ordinance is a solid release. It has all the aggressive nature of the band’s debut, but with a few more surprises along the way. Instead of being stuck in one gear for thirty minutes, Obsolete Ordinance finds that it has a gear above and below the one used on Ad Infinitum Satanic Adherent. The two opening tracks start the album off on the right foot, “Northern Superiority” keeps this death machine rolling through the front-half, and the two closing pieces add the most depth to the record. While these songs get better with repeat listens, the weaker ones get weaker with each listen. The dynamics are good, the drum work is great, and the thirty-minute length makes this stew easy to chew. Though it won’t be making an end-of-the-year list, Infernal Execrator is a massive band with lots of potential.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 128 kbps mp3
Label: Pulverised Records Homepage | Pulverised Records Bandcamp
Websites: infernalexecrator.wixsite.com/mcbl | facebook.com/infernal.execrator
Releases Worldwide: July 27th, 2018
