Blackened Thrash Metal
Independent Release
Release Date – September 8th 2023
Line Up:
Valax – Bass/Vocals/Samples
Daniel Toews – Guitar
Davey Hellfire – Drums
Tracklist:
1 – Mortal Rift
2 – A Life Of Evil
3 – The Devil’s Connection
4 – Chaos And Carnality
5 – Aspect Of Darkness
6 – Infernal Might (featuring Mark Russell)
7 – Animus
Black Pestilence hails from the ‘Nashville of the North’ – Calgary, Canada which is a place I know well. Now with a name like Black Pestilence, you ain’t getting sappy ballads and blues covers – hell no! This trio of nasties have been peddling quality blackened thrash since at least 2009 and during that time they have released six previous albums, two EPs, and some splits, all of which I will be sourcing ASAP! Main man Valax has stated that this record is a bit of a departure with samples and extra percussion added to create dissonant tones and industrial electronics. I would say the use of these sounds is quite subtle which is not a word that comes easily to the music. Valax also mentions that the songs themselves touch on Satanic philosophy, societal stratification, and debauchery. Bring it on!
They get straight to the point on ‘Mortal Rift’ and I will say immediately that if you like Midnight, Venom, and Hellripper then this will be right up your street. It’s loud, it’s vulgar, it’s fast, it’s filthy dirty, and chaotic – give me more! Valax bangs his bass for the intro to ‘A Life Of Evil’ and is soon joined by the razor-sharp guitar of Daniel Toews and the powerhouse rhythms of Davey Hellfire. This is relentless and pummelling so much so that you can’t help banging your head. ‘The Devil’s Connection’ has more than a touch of Venom with Valax’s banging bass line leading the charge as Toews gives us some mighty chug before the pure evil of ‘Chaos And Carnality’ which is about lusting after a girl – we’ve all been there! Sirens wail on the opening to ‘Aspect Of Darkness’ and we’re off again on another beastlike battering. I seriously doubt that the instruments they play could survive one gig let alone a whole tour – this is just brutal! ‘Infernal Might’ starts with a melodic guitar line before it crashes headlong into a blackened punk metal thrasher with the help of the vocals from Mark Russell of Citizen Rage. Those samples and extra percussion rear their heads on album closer ‘Animus’ and again Valax feeds us a mighty bassline which Troews mirrors with his six strings and the synths create colour over the bastard noise.
I seriously can’t get enough of this. It’s big, nasty, and as rough as a badger’s arse. The black energy it creates is like a massive middle finger to the world and it says – you don’t like me, you don’t like my music or all the things I stand for – go and fuck yourself! This is real and this is as honest as it gets. Fantastic – more, please!
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 9/10
About Author
