Anaal Nathrakh was created for one purpose - to be the soundtrack for armageddon, the audial essence of evil, hatred and violence, the true spirit of necro taken to its musical extremes. Since being founded in 1999, the band has gained a reputation for embodying precisely these things, with a history including not only the release of four albums and an EP to rapturous acclaim, but collaborations with such legendary figures as Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Shane Embury and Danny Herrera (Napalm Death), Nick Barker (Testament, Dimmu Borgir), Joe Horvath (Circle of Dead Children), Sethlans Teitan (Watain) and so on. This, alongside appearing on BBC Radio 1 at the personal behest of sadly missed icon John Peel, headlining a stage at the renowned cult Inferno Festival in Norway as their debut international live appearance, countless placings in ‘best album of the year’ polls and album of the month awards in the press and cover appearances on leading magazines such as Terrorizer… Anaal Nathrakh’s status as one of the leading lights in extreme metal is undeniable. Hallmarked by breathtaking musical ferocity, inventiveness and breadth, married with a mercurial, intensely misanthropic and sharp intelligence, Anaal Nathrakh’s sound is imbued with a palpable sense of menace that is virtually unmatched in metal. And as 2009 begins with the world apparently going to wrack and ruin, the band unveil their latest merciless, deranged, schizophrenic album ‘In The Constellation Of The Black Widow’.
Anaal Nathrakh Demo (1999)
This demo basically consists of 4 good-length tracks. The self-titled tracks stands out and it shows a band that's willing to play relentless, fast and raw Black Metal. Necrodeath is another fast track with a lot of standard tremelo riffing and of course, the underground sound. The third track, Iceblasting Stormwinds (Part I), though paced, is perhaps the most musically rich song of the album. It shows that these guys did have a lot of potential from the beginning. You can ever heard solos throughout the demo on each track. The last track, Carnage, is a pretty mediocre track and makes the experience boring. It's got blast-beats and fast riffing but I'm not blown away by it. To sum it all up, this demo does show this band's willingness to produce fast, underground Black Metal and I'm sure had they continued doing this, they would've become the premier UK Black Metal outfit.
The Codex Necro (2001)
This is an album for those unafraid to step headfirst into the apocalyptic sounds of modern Black Metal. Unrelenting and challenging it may be, but this is genuinely one of the most rewarding albums ever to have represented the field of extreme music and will doubtlessly become a classic milestone in years to come.
Total Fucking Necro (2002)
Making it through this album in one sitting is a tough endeavor; the unrelenting blastbeats, poor production, searing tremolo picking, and guttural scream of V.I.T.R.I.O.L. make sure of that. If you're looking to get into Anaal Nathrakh, I wouldn't recommend starting here. The sound is simply too raw. Go pick up The Codex Necro to get a better idea of what this band was about during this time in their career. If you like that, come back and give “The Technogoat” another listen in its original format.
Tracks 1-4 taken from "Anaal Nathrakh" 1999 demo.
Tracks 5-9 taken from "Total Fucking Necro" 1999 demo.
Track 10 from unreleased "We Will Fucking Kill You" 2001 demo.
Tracks 4 & 8 are Mayhem covers.
When Fire Rains Down From The Sky, Mankind Will Reap As It Has Sown EP (2003)
All in all this is one of the strongest Eps I have come across. It picks up where the debut left off but continues to evolve at the same time. If you are new to this band and are looking for some ferocious and devastating black metal that will stay in your CD player for weeks, look no further. If you are already familiar with Nathrakh then add this one to your collection now!
Attila Csihar - All vocals on 'Atavism'
Sethlans Teitan - guitar on 'How the Angels Fly In' and 'Genesis of the
Antichrist'
Domine Non Es Dignus (2004)
Anaal Nathrakh has changed. This is not the same band that released "The Codex Necro." While the aethesticism has remained the same (nihilism, misanthropy), the sound has changed much.
Death metal drumming, clean vocals, falsetto's, death metal vocals, black metal vocals, more melodic riffs and solo's, and much cleaner production. The only thing musically that's similar, really, is Irrumator's insane goddamn shrieking. This is definitely a more mature Anaal, and hopefully they'll continue along this path for their next album.
Eschaton (2006)
This album is no less than incredible...and sounds like none other; something Anaal Nathrakh are no doubt priding themselves on. This is definately one album that HAS to be in the collection of any fan of extreme metal. The soundtrack to armageddon? Listen to this and you'll believe that it's already here.
Hell Is Empty, And All The Devils Are Here (2007)
All in all, this album is their best effort so far in my opinion, and one of the best metal efforts in general. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is regarded as a classic in 20 years. It is advised to remove valuable or breakable objects from your room when listening to this, you might spontaneously jump up and start moshing with your furniture. Anaal Nathrakh truly emptied hell, all those devils are right next to them and they make sure we know it.
In The Constellation Of The Black Widow (2009)
All in all this is a fast, short, angry black album by great musicians, filled with eccentric and organic riffing, amazing and ever-changing vocals, which marks both a return to the roots of the band and a step forward, towards evolution. This band, as I ever so subtly implied at the end of the previous paragraph, is now closer to brutal death metal and grindcore than it is to black metal, but the core melodies and vocals still tie them somehow to a black metal profile, not to mention their past musical efforts. To close a review of such a particular effort by such a particular band, I could say that this album's sound is probably what it would sound like to mix such an elegant and well-thought album like Eschaton and mixing it with the bold rawness and aggressivity of Codex Necro.
Originaly uploaded by TAGROTH WITCHLOVERIf you downloaded it then post a comment after listening it please.It will be interesting for other metalheads to know about your impressions from the music.
Posts
