Blood Upon the Altar / Gods of War

Those who have been fans of extreme metal for a long time are no doubt aware of Blasphemy and the lore surrounding “Fallen Angel Of Doom…” That album single handedly created the bestial black metal sound, drawing extensive influence from both death metal and grindcore, and is rightfully lauded for the classic that it is. However, the second album, “Gods Of War”, is the overlooked rotten jewel in the crown of death. The riffs have more charisma, the music hits harder, and the atmosphere is much more feral. The result is a much more memorable experience than the first album, the only defect here being the use of sound effects as an attempt to create a morbid aura. However, they disrupt the flow of the music and more often than not come off as gimmicky and cartoonish, greatly diminishing the feeling of listening to a seamless whole, and making the album feel more like a collage of unrelated songs at times. Thankfully, the quality of the songwriting overshadows these bizarre and unnecessary sonic artifacts.

That said, the album kicks off with the excellent “Elders Of The Apocalypse/Blood Upon The Altar”, a harsh dose of abrasive old school death metal interspersed with a stomping thrash riff similar to the midsection of “Angel Of Death”. The rest of the songs follow nearly the exact same strategy: chaotic opening, crunching thrash groove, then a frenzied return to the chaotic opening salvo. However, each song has its own distinct approach to this repetitive formula and this works in Blasphemy’s favor. What sounds like unstructured white noise to the uninitiated is in reality a mixture of black metal atmosphere, death/thrash riffing, and a strong commitment to the vicious and minimalist structural approach of grindcore.

A standout track is “Emperor Of The Black Abyss”, which contains a guitar solo that seems to be inspired more by jazz fusion than extreme metal. Whether that was intentional or not is unknown, though the various sonic textures of the other songs reveal similar layers of unexpected influences beneath the heavy riffage and violent percussion. The incorporation of a small handful of microsongs is also a pleasant variation on the standard black/death approach.

Is this album perfect? No, of course not, but it is often lost in the midst of the accolades of its iconic predecessor. And frankly it’s one of the best extreme metal albums in history. It has flaws that stick out like blood smeared over snow and ice, but the quality of the songs is more than strong enough to compensate for them. This album is instructive on how, and how not, to craft blistering metallic excellence. I only hope that someday they find it somewhere in their black hearts to summon forth a third excursion into hellish malevolence.

(Disclaimer: I will not be reviewing the Blood Upon The Altar demo, seeing as that is an entirely separate release. It's a good demo, you should listen to it if you haven't already)

Blasphemy is one of those bands that to seasoned underground fans needs no introduction. The godfathers of the "War Metal" sub-subgenre, they gave birth to it with classics such as Blood Upon The Altar and Fallen Angel of Doom...., which have since been aped by countless bands, with few ever reaching that level of quality. There is also Gods of War, their sophomore album, which doesn’t get talked about as often, and not without reason. It’s not on the same level of quality as what preceded it, and suffers as a result.

As an album, Gods of War mainly suffers from the fact that its underdeveloped. Very few of the songs even break the 3 minute mark, with quite a few being below 2 minutes. Songs like the title track and “Atomic Nuclear Desolation” are little more than a single riff that’s being played at a high speed for 10-20 seconds before they abruptly end. It’s disappointing because few original songs here (more on that later) that go on longer are actually quite good, since they gave their ideas room to breathe instead of just flinging shit at the wall and not even waiting to see what sticks. What makes this even more of a shame is that when they let the new material develop it kicks genuine ass, seen in tracks like “Emperor of the Black Abyss” and “Empty Chalice”, which are some of the best tracks on offer. Both of them have some great moments that actually have a chance to make an impact due to the longer song length.

Which brings me to my next complaint: 4 out of the album’s 10 songs are from the Blood Upon The Altar demo, which is disappointing when considering that there’s 3 years between this and Fallen Angel.... While one could argue that the debut had the same issue, with 3 of its tracks being from the demo, I'm more inclined to excuse it, since it was the debut, and it’s difficult to make a debut that’s 100% comprised of new material. I wouldn’t have as much of an issue if the short songs mentioned previously were actually developed and not blurs that make me want to check if I accidentally skipped a song.

There is also the matter of production, which is another great change in comparison to its predecessor. The band definitely had a bigger budget here and went for a more “clean” sound, contrasting how underproduced the debut was. It’s worth mentioning that the production being cleaner is in no way an indication that it’s a sterile album. The guitars still sound heavy, the drums still pummel away at the listener, and the bass provides some necessary low end. It has always been a point of contention amongst people discussing this album, but it’s actually one of the few things that didn’t disappoint me with this release. It was handled differently, but in no means was it handled poorly.

Gods of War suffers from a case of the sophomore slump. Its highs cannot really compare with the best moments on either Fallen Angel of Doom…. or Blood Upon the Altar. Despite those weaknesses it’s still is a Blasphemy album, full of fury and destructive tendencies, which by default makes it better than the vast majority of tripe that infests the war metal subgenre. It’s a shame that this is the last album they left us with, but I suppose it’s best to stop writing music when you don’t feel like you’re on top of your game. Who knows, perhaps in the distant future we’ll get another album. A man can dream, right?

Highlights: Elders of the Apocalypse/Blood Upon the Altar, Emperor of the Black Abyss, Necrosadist, Empty Chalice

After the success of their debut album "Fallen Angel of Doom...", the Canadian band decided to return to the studio and release a new album three years later titled "Gods of War". The problem is, at the time of writing, this is the last studio album they've ever released. Sure, they've reunited in 1999, released some demos and live albums, and are still doing concerts. However, as time goes by, the chances of them releasing another studio album gets lower and lower, and it's at a point where very few people even expect it to come out. While a new album release may eventually happen, for now, let's see how GOW ended things off with a bang.

One interesting thing about the album is the instruments. Like FAOD, GOW continues the messy and chaotic instruments and production, but it's now slightly more polished. The guitars have more of a clear sound in them, but still play some dark and disturbing riffs. The drums still beat very fast, but not in the aggressive beat patterns like the previous album. The bass is also more audible, and follows along the guitars better than the original. One of the best instruments on this album is "Nocturnal Slayer". While the track itself is short, the guitars play these really harsh and furious riffs, and the drums lean more towards the frenzied messy patterns the previous album was known for. While I would've preferred more distortion, the instruments are still great.

Another great element of the album is the vocals. Gerry Buhl once again does the main vocals, and they're just as good as in FAOD. His voice still retains the growls and gurgles, but he adds some clarity in them. One example of this would be in the track "Emperor of the Black Abyss". There, the track goes for a more groovy tone, and Buhl's vocals reflect that. His voice emphasizes certain words in a raspy voice, and his higher use of chants make the atmosphere of the track sound more epic than in many other songs. I'd argue that Buhl's vocals on this album are slightly better than the ones in FAOD, since they offer a good mix of growls and chants.

But one thing that has downgraded a bit is the lyrics. The lyrics aren't terrible by any means, but they don't seem right with the way they're presented. Take the lyrics to "Intro / Necrosadist" for example, where this verse quotes:

Baphomet leads unholy lust In darkness
I only fuck through eternal
Searching for the true corpse of my lust
Black mass and fornications near the searing lake of fire unholy might doth bring blasphemous alterations

The lyrics deal with themes of necrophilia, as Buhl gurgles about having sex with a corpse. The lyrics themselves still retain the graphic wording and are given a more sinister tone with the vocals, but it feels a bit out of place with the instruments. As I've stated before, the production is more clean, and when they're combined with some of the more softer moments of the tracks, the lyrics don't have the same power as in FAOD. The lyrics themselves are still good, and Buhl's vocals still make them sound evil, but to see them clashing with the instruments just feels weird.

Nevertheless, this album is still excellent overall. The instruments are still just as brutal, and Buhl's vocals are improved upon with more experimental vocal styles. It kinda sucks to know that "Gods of War" may be the last album Blasphemy will ever release. But if that truly is the case, than GOW is a great album to end things off. If you're looking for a more cleaner version of war metal, I recommend you check this out.

As an awaited three-year follow-up, this is a similar, chaotic Blasphemy, except with a different sound due to a disinfected production. Also, guitarist, Traditional Sodomizer leaves and Black Winds remains lead vocalist yet hands over bass duties to newest member at that point, Necrosleezer.

The ideology is right on track with a destroy-everything-but-the-destroyers mentality. Spouting evil supremacy from the forum of lunatics. The words nuclear and apocalypse heed way for Blasphemy's rampage. With death and desolation passing through, someone kill the cavalry.

Gods of War sounds like processed death metal with an evil tone. There are a few anti-climaxes with some quick blasting, go-nowhere tracks, that sound like grinding black-death like early Impaled Nazarene. While some tracks are decent here, some others sound like unrefined imitations of their previous style without the overall bona fide feel. I also think the production on the last helped enhance their hammering song writing. Which in a way came with its own tarnished, insolence.

The idea on Gods of War was to go for an anarchic form of extreme metal. Whether they achieved this with breakneck speed, rip-the-strings-from-the-fret-board solos, hell-commanding growls, riffs as thickly sliced as Canadian bacon, or effects out the wazoo. I don't think the song writing is entirely at fault but the recording leaves little to the imagination. The gaps between the instruments are as wide as a step compared to the last full length. This comes with clicking double bass and tom triggers—I noticed they put them lower than the snare, which doesn't sound triggered—as well as singular, in this case, describable guitars.

The music is mostly fast here, exciting hectic blasts to keep after its speeding cretins. The vocals lead the assault mostly with a deep growl, typically growling with a near one-tone extension. His vocals also use various grunts to upset your ears, accompanied by Necrosleezer using growls to accentuate a duo of (your) impending disaster. Caller of the Storm's guitar playing fares much better when grinding his strings in fast tempo. The mid-paced moments that use a basic chug are lost with the singularness of them.

Blasphemy are comprised of a group of browbeating, harriers of music. This time we get a short time span to hear their music, with a few short tracks that I think they could have cut out. And a production that has some gaps that could have been stuffed with mortar to clench their chaotic foundation. Blasphemy still causes the feeble-hearted to grab at a panic-stricken chest. But the starving, ear-depraved extreme metal listeners might want some more blood to go along with Gods of War. I would say this release would be better suited for someone who likes a dusted recording accompanied with their chaotic, extreme tunes. While the first output is like a grainy recorded freak-accident, screams and the shock of the crowd, as well as the shaky camera helps reinforce a more terrifying experience.

Predating most of the stupid "war metal" trend Blaspemy grind and crunch along with a brutality that is far superior to any of their imitators. Sure, it's raw as fuck compared to bands like Genocide Kommando's but it's twice as interesting in terms of playing and songwriting. The production actually makes the music warm and attacking. The playing is somewhat loose, but it keeps it front being boring by adding alternative and vibe instead of clinical repetition of already repeating ideas. The vibe of violence and thuggery is in the air when Blasphemy attack...and that is the only way I'd want it.

The songwriting alternates from short grinding songs, to classic thrash riffs to traditional black metal movements. The band can blast without getting lost in the land of boring, they can thrash like Sodom and they can grind as well as any grind act. They had it all in their prime and this release proves that all the pretenders can go home and leave the boring blast-till-death crap at home until they learn how to write a fucking song. Blasphemy may be neanderthal in many ways...but they are neanderthal in the most violent and entertaining way possible. If I were to declare a violent street-war...this would be the soundtrack.

Fuck most of the bands they inspired...this is the real deal and probably will remain the best at what they did for quite some time. Impossibly uncommercial, creatively dominant and violent beyond words...Blasphemy are the heirs to Sodom's legacy and dissonant-yet-catchy violence. (Not to say that it sounds like Sodom...but they progressed the "vibe" Sodom had more than any thrash-imitators ever could have.)

BUY OR DIE!!!

Let's get one thing straight: Blasphemy are quite possibly the heaviest band ever to inhabit the world of metal, IMO. They do this by combining the best elements of black metal (morbid atmosphere, chaotic structuring and Satanic bluster), death metal (disharmonic instrumental prowess and vomited vocal assaults) and even grind (short, to-the-point songs and a general habit of not fucking around), and single-handedly created the monstrous subgenre known as War Metal. While the debut, Fallen Angel Of Doom, is in it's own right a vicious slab of hateful aggression, Gods Of War still stands as their definitive musical statement.

There's really no point dissecting this album song-by-song, since it mostly blurs together in a short, nasty mess of metallic fury. Each track rushes at you with the speed and force of a freight train, not bothering to stop for anything or anyone. A few scattered intro pieces help to break things up a little, but that's only to let you breathe a bit before the next beating. Souped up thrash riffs and precise blastbeats hold the whole mess together, while the vocals bellow out over the top like an enraged demon, spewing invective and scaring little kids. At a pinch, i'd have to say Blasphemous Attack, Nocturnal Slayer and Necrosadist are the standouts, but only by a flea's dick. Overall, this album is a sustained beating that takes no prisoners and contains absolutely zero filler.

Unfortunately, it's only 20 minutes long. It's a good thing, then, that Osmose chose to tack the classic demo Blood Upon The Altar onto the disc - and also amusing that it takes up more than half the total playing time. This demo is more grounded in classic black metal than Gods Of War itself - the vocals and riffing are more obviously influenced by Bathory and Venom, while the drumming tends to be more streamlined and less blasting. These songs have several creepy keyboard/effect pieces here and there, while the production is raw as fuck but amazingly clear all the same. If anything, I actually prefer some of these songs to their album versions - particularly the tunes which ended up on Fallen Angel Of Doom, since the mix here is less murky than on the album.

So overall, you get nearly 42 minutes of brutal blackened war metal. The only complaint I can think of is that the disc is mastered a bit too low for it's own good, but that's nothing a bit of volume cranking won't fix. Buy or pose!