Through the Cervix of Hawaah

I remember the first time I heard Portal’s “Outre'”. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before and had undeniable atmosphere and creepiness. Unfortunately it had little else and didn't sustain my interest for long. Portal succeeded in an experimental ‘avant-garde’ sense because they pushed the boundaries of extremity and acceptability further than anyone before them. Ultimately, they opened avenues for other (better) bands to follow. If Portal were a prototype, where could we find the finished product?

Antediluvian provide the answer on “Through the Cervix of Hawaah”. This has all the atmosphere of Portal but also has decent riffs and interesting song structures. This is some of the most evil, extreme and fucked up music I’ve ever heard, in any genre. You could describe it as a combination of “Outre'” and “Onward to Golgotha”, but such a description doesn’t do it justice (and would not have tempted me to investigate any further). I prefer to think of this being the successor to the most chaotic, occult death/black metal bands from the '80s (think Necrovore or Parabellum). Then throw in some early Carcass, Incantation, Beherit, Abruptum and a bit of Pan-Thy-Monium’s weirdness and you're there.

The first riff on instrumental opener “Rephaim Sceptre…” sets a discordant, horrible precedent for everything that follows. This is probably the most typical metal riff on the entire album (building an almost conventional groove), but is still way beyond the limit of most bands. The fun really starts on track two. Impossibly deep vocals arrive over a repetitive, rapid cycling minimalist guitar line, descending into barely controlled chaos. Most of the songs use similar ideas, building up layers, mining greater depths. The perversity of “Intuitus Mortuus” reminds me of “Symphonies of Sickness” with such gurgling, low end extremity. “From Seraphic Embrace” takes the hypnotic, repetitive patterns of Beherit’s “Drawing Down the Moon” and somehow makes them sound even more despicable. Album closer "Erect Reflection” is the longest and most complex song and has an extended droning section. Good luck identifying individual tracks though, it all melds together to form a wonderful (but confusing) wall of sound.

Antediluvian have a death metal approach to extremity, this is no mindless grindcore blast-fest or ‘necro’ black metal cop-out. The production is incredible. The bass tone is superficially similar to early grindcore and hardcore punk. It has a looseness and jangliness that I wish more extreme metal bands would use. The guitar tone is as thick as tar, but the repetitive riff structure gives the songs a levity which stops them getting bogged down. The whole thing sounds balanced because you can only hear what Antediluvian want you to hear. Your mind is expected to fill the blanks and create an impression of what you’ve heard. It doesn't work as background music for that reason, because the impression would only be partially formed.

"Through the Cervix of Hawaah" is music for a particular state of mind and is not suitable for everyday listening, but Antediluvian are every bit as epochal, ancient and glacial as their name suggests.