Monstrosity are one of bands I turn to when craving death metal in trope form, expertly crafted but delivered in the most general sense, free of idiosyncrasy. Much like Malevolent Creation, and maybe Morpheus Descends, they offer a completely de-stylised, bipartisan interpretation of classic era death metal. At least on ‘Imperial Doom’. ‘Millenium’, with its strikingly ordered technical density and wonderfully terrible early photoshop artwork is a different prospect entirely.
No, unlike many of their contemporaries, Monstrosity almost made a point of leaning neither one way or another, carefully crafting a specifically designed sound package to service a generic craving. That’s not say they lacked identity or creativity at this point. Quite the contrary. Unlike Cancer or Benediction’s lamentable attempts to play with the big boys, Monstrosity were masters of meshing the disparate elements of death metal – which was an increasingly nebulous and fast moving target by 1992 – into a coherent and, most importantly, artistically compelling prospect. One that has stood the test of time, unlike their English counterparts.
‘Imperial Doom’ starts from the premise of lifting the tight grindcore of Terrorizer into a denser, more refined space. Blasts of chaos are more than simply disruptive, they introduce the key themes of each piece, which are later unpacked and elongated by a stiff brew of Slayer-esque thrash and percussive framing. The riffs are kept largely atonal, with the occasional tremolo run of chromatic interplay teasing at cadences before wresting the music back to tonal ambiguity.
Drums engage in a constant dialog with the riffs in this regard. Rather than merely keeping time, they deliberately disrupt the flow and momentum, serving up patterns of their own as a challenge to the primacy of the guitars. The result at a macro level is a wonderful ebb and flow of competing momentums and intensities.
Herein lies the enduring beauty of this album, and the reason its lack of clear stylistic allegiance is its greatest strength. For all the genius behind Incantion, Immolation, Morbid Angel, or At the Gates of this era, one is very much aware that they are listening to their interpretation and development of death metal. Whilst this feature is exactly why these artists are so revered, it also makes albums like ‘Imperial Doom’ stand out. One is free to witness, study, or simply take joy in the process of death metal construction in its purest state.
In Colombia there is a label called La Caverna Records. As well as reissues of lost gems, it specialises in the metal of Latin in America, and of course Colombia in particular. Being an early supporter of HM, and a great resource for unearthing the metal of this region, the fact that they broke a lengthy silence this year for a triple release of buried Colombian death and black metal demos was a pleasant surprise to say that least.
One such of these was Medellin based death metal outfit Barbarie Medieval. The ‘En la oscuridad… un lamento / La barbarie continúa…’ compilation brought together their early material, a studied listen of which of course led me to look into material following their reformation in 2012. Their latest album ‘Por los senderos de la muerte’ was released back in 2017, but could very easily have been a product of an earlier era.
Having formed in the early 90s, the entity that greets us by the late 2010s is naturally a slicker, technically refined, and self-assured beast. Nevertheless, the package of creative austerity is retained, with production retaining a modest, almost intimate aesthetic. All is immediate, close, cloying. But the mix is tight, the lack of empty space accenting the proficiency of the performances. Despite this, stylistically this album is near boundless, referencing everything from Hellenic black metal, to early proto metal doom riffs, to speed metal and light thrash, and a bombastic undercurrent of melodic creativity lifted from heavy metal as was in the reckless mid-80s.
Despite the overt modesty and undeniable traditionalism at play, there’s a case to be made for the current incarnation of Barbarie Medieval being the true inheritors of Southern European extreme metal, at least to a greater extent than the still active practitioners of the original scene in that region. No overblown orchestration, faux antiquarian melodrama, or sugary sweet power metal riffing that has come to define the Varathrons and Rotting Christs of the last decade or more. No, here all is refined, restrained, with a laser like focus on crafting arcane narratives through creative and studied riffcraft.
And to wash down this rewarding but at times dry brew of riff based metallic forms, what better palate cleanser than Nazgûl’s ‘De Expugnatione Elfmuth’. This early naughties Italian oddity are essentially a post Summoning indulgence situated in that tasteless, nay lawless, territory between symphonic black metal and dungeon synth. Brazen in the use of cheap keyboards, haphazard high pitched vocals, clunky programmed drums, basically an entire cornucopia of boner geek high fantasy celebration.
It’s the musical equivalent of what we in Yorkshire would call a shit slipper. The kebab you buy at the end of the session, a giant pitta bread filled with every putrid, calorific, heart stopping fragment of matter utterly saturated with salt and fat one is willing to stuff into their face. But Nazgûl have no shame. They invite, nay beg us to pamper ourselves in our lowest, guiltiest desires. And just as a shit slipper is followed by days of regret and ill health, one feels a strong desire to shower after a serving of Nazgûl.
At an intellectual level one is left clutching at features to comment on. Logic, coherence, an overarching impression of what each composition is attempting to achieve are all wanting. But as the outrageous synth brass lick of ‘In Summis Montibus’ kicks in we realise that’s precisely the point. This is one step short of a joke band. For brief vignettes a compelling melody comes to the fore, a creative folk jaunt, one could even celebrate the use of keyboards as a lead instrument in contrast to the episodic cycles of Summoning. But Nazgûl have no such patience for this sort of considered study. The music races on to the next juncture. Like experiencing a fantasy RPG at triple the speed, there is no time to sit and enjoy even a moment of brief escapism or lighthearted drama.
Fans at the geekier end of extreme metal tend to know what they’re about. Our near acrobatic ability to suspend disbelief has been sharpened and refined over many years, because we know that it can be worth it. This form of overtly naïve, consciously childish metal paves the way for a degree of artistic purity few other forms can reach. Nazgûl – much like a lot of modern dungeon synth – attempts to short circuit this well honed skill, bypassing the currents of intellectualism, restraint, or the tacit and mortally fragile understanding between fan and artist, that temporary sanctuary we enter to understand and be nourished by this form of metal.
Nazgûl steamroll their way through all of that with reckless abandon. A brief stay with them – far from being regrettable – is therefore highly instructive in this regard. It strips us of our illusions. It wipes our brains clean in order to refocus our energy anew, free of self-deception or pretention.
Hate Meditations 
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