The Rack

Would it be amiss to call this not only Asphyx's greatest album, but also one of the absolute best death metal albums of all time? Allow me to make a case for Asphyx's formidable debut. Arguments against the album have often been a production that is somehow lacking (rather, one might argue - you can feel the guitars and the rawness is absolutely superb given the album's themes) and that the demos were somehow better (sans Martin? That can't be an improvement!). However, I've been of the opinion that this is one of the most captivating and ruthless albums in all of death metal. Its macabre nature and unfolding structure are awesome to behold, and I can't really think of many death metal albums that are out-and-out better per se.

One of the things that Asphyx capture here is an experience, a superb pacing and an album that draws you in for its playing time and captivates you in a world of dark, medieval dungeons, pestilence and, well, the grinding gears of the rack itself: the album is a vivid experience, almost depicting "how many different awful ways can one die?" and yet it never comes across as trite or silly. Martin Van Drunen - alongside possessing the most satisfying voice in the entire subgenre - has written some excellent, non-cliché lyrics: they're about as morbid as it gets but with a genuine skin-crawling quality rather than "I chop off your head and watch the blood spill over the floor of the post-office" fare. Much like Bathory or Celtic Frost, it seems that the bands who have English as a second language often write more engaging lyrics than the native speakers (take that, Cancer!). It would seem that Martin was still intrigued by the idea of Malleus Maleficarum and wanted to actual delve into the horrors of the Inquisition. Again, the idea of an innocent individual accused of heresy and witchcraft against the entire institutional might of the Catholic church again gives one a greater sense of horror in comparison to "zombies and ketchup" slasher fare (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Musically, there is a fantastic marriage of a few key elements here: Eric Daniels is a clearly a fan of Slayer, Candlemass, Celtic Frost and this glorious hodgepodge is all over the album. If anything, his closest contemporary is what Blackmoon achieved on Necrophobic's The Nocturnal Silence: melodic, unique and full of passages that let the music breathe rather than plowing into the next piece of blugeoning rifforama. In fact, even the mid-heavy and distinctly non-Morrisound/non-HM2 guitar sound puts the two albums as somewhat comparable, but moreso I would say it's the deftness of touch that the two albums share in spades. Daniels is a butcher when it comes down to heavy-handed riffing, sure, but he's a master of his craft. Then, for the sake of this being a cohesive piece, Messrs Van Drunen and Bagchus provide Daniels his canvas: in an era when it was increasingly common for your 'death metal' albums to have a fretless bassist playing flashy fills and a drummer keen to show off just how much of an influence Rush are on him, here the rhythm section is spartan. Austerity and functionality are the name of the game and, if it doesn't serve the overall atmosphere and imagery of the album, then it's simply not happening. I suppose another worthy comparison would be fellow Dutchies, Sempiternal Deathreign and their wonderful album, The Spooky Gloom. Asphyx and Sempiternal Deathreign definitely share some similarities sonically - but the overall mood is different. The Spooky Gloom is like the fog outside the cabin in Evil Dead or any of those long, lingering shots of cemeteries in classic horror films, whereas The Rack marries the spectral with the grim reality of history.

Of course, to simply focus on the individual components is not really to hear The Rack: the album opens up like an ancient tome, depicting the centuries of inquisition, the cruelty of the church, the stark reminder that palpable fear of the devil made ghouls of the vulnerable and different, and - of course - how that religious fervour culminated in the orgiastic torture of thousands deep in the darkest dungeons of Europe. For a more intense experience... listen to the album as if you were the one being taken to the torture chamber.