Tag: Raw Black Metal

1.) Contract From Below 4:48

2.) Abyssal Specter 6:15

3.) Dread Presence 5:48

4.) Smother 3:24

5.) The Reflection In The Mirror Of Oblivion part 2 3:42

Here we are now getting into the depths of winter and with it we have possibly the best music to accompany those colder, bleaker mornings. Yes that’s right, Devouring Famine has dropped the 4th demo in a series of pure uncompromising hateful and purely blistering releases providing the only fire to keep you warm on those bitterly cold days ahead to your impending doom.

The new demo opens with the title track of the E.P. “Contract from Below” a beautifully slow and grinding opening with the entities vocals ringing out like a siren shrieking from the rocks, luring sailors to their final resting place.

The riffs keep the icy cold pace up and until the mini bass interlude where the warm notes Creep through before being plummeted back to the icy depths. This track is another well constructed and mix of genres delving between a somber doom and blackened thrash elements but the secret is hidden in the little interludes little DSBM moments keep you gripped but that little bass and drum build up clinch it mid way for me. I just love the depth and exploration this entity will go to this includes the talented solos that take you back to those days of NWOBHM.

Abyssal Specter  opens with another slow opening leaving you just a moment to catch your breath before the ferocious opening takes a hold this shortened BM intro scoops you up and wraps you in its cold embrace before the slower and heavier riffs engulf you in their darkness. This is merely brief before a ripping solo rings through bringing the tempo of the track right back up into the freezing atmospheric levels. The back ground riff is very reminiscent of the opening of Sepultura’s Propaganda opening. That icy tremolo picking definitely harks back to this tracks opening for me and the mix of the thrash and doom elements to this track definitely follow that tracks formula and this just makes it a great example of quality song structure. A great pay of homage to an amazing track by those boys from Brazil. Encompassing these elements just shows that anything is possible with this entity and what can be infused as inspiration.

Track 3 “Dead Presence” opens with some extremely thick DSBM riffs. This is very reminiscent of Shining’s “Yttligare Ett Steg Närmare Total Jävla Utfrysning” opening. Vocals are sparing on this track definitely leaving room for the music to do the talking. This is a much slower track than that of anything previous by D.F. the midsection is where it speeds up a little nothing too major in pace, but its definitely a build up before the bass and drum interlude which once again definitely takes you back to that very Shining Halmstad sound captured on that release.

Track 4) Smother is a instrumental track which is just purely guitar and bass. This sombre little break to the whole E.P. is a exquisite little piece. It exudes that loneliness sound, very dark and encompassing. It definitely has that build of emotion that can indeed leave you smothered in emotion.

Track 5) The Reflection In The Mirror Of Oblivion part 2 goes in hard and takes you back to the previous release of the same name. With classic blackened thrash riffs blended between that of the black metal, these welcomed old school thrash elements make for a very all encompassing closing track to this mixed and yet very three dimensional release. It just goes to show that no matter what style the entity turns his hand too, he literally makes the very best of it. So far over 4 demos I cannot think of an act that has surpassed this level of consistency on every release.

Not only just within the BM genre but encompassing so many other styles on his releases and doing it with ease and precision. I really don’t have enough good things to say about this act and what he’s accomplishing at every release but, I’m pretty sure he signed a Contract From Below with the Devil Himself.

Foras – Lord of the Shadows