Blood upon the Altar

If you had asked me 10 years ago, a kid who was barely into melodeath and symphonic black metal what I thought of a band like Blasphemy, I probably would've asked you who on earth they were and wrinkled my nose as soon as you showed me any of their material. I was, at the time, a snob, so that absolutely impeded on my acceptance of anything that was simpler than your garden variety tech death, or more extreme than Bathory's Viking output - an outstanding catalogue to be sure, but not the subject of this review.

But that was then, and this is now. A decade on from the aforementioned, and jaded from the various low points of life, and I find that Blasphemy is really hitting a sweet spot for me. A band I had initially been reticent to explore, and in fact shocked me the first time I heard the title track from Fallen Angel of Doom, have now found a place in my top bands of all time, below only Bathory, Motorhead and Midnight, at the time of writing. Their style of pure, unadulterated viciousness is one I find myself craving more and more, and even considering trying my hand at it myself.

And here is where it all started. A humble demo crafted by a bunch of skinheads with a knack for violence and vandalism, paying worship to bands such as Bathory, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Discharge, anything extreme. I honestly believe that if it wasn't for the Nordic scene, then this is the direction the majority of black metal would've taken. And if the 'war metal' subgenre started and ended with this demo, then I wouldn't be sad at all, for this is in my humble opinion, the pinnacle of it.

Featuring songs that would later go on to be showcased on their full-length albums Fallen Angel of Doom and Gods of War, I find myself vastly preferring the versions on the demo, as the rougher production really highlights what I feel is the sonic brutality of what Blasphemy have tried - and succeeded - in doing. In particular, War Command (excellently preceded by Ross Bay Intro - I admit to being a sucker for a foreboding, atmospheric intro, bonus points if there are ominous church bells), Ritual, and Blasphemous Attack hit harder than their marginally more high fidelity re-recordings.

One of the only real complaints I have of this demo is also one of the things I most enjoy about it, and that is the production. While I think it absolutely adds to the charm, it does also make the material quite hard to digest upon first listen. It does require repeat listening to really get into unless you've been desensitized by years of other extreme genres, as was my case. I also find myself wishing that there was more of it, that more songs would've been shown the raw treatment instead of the cuts we have here. Basically, I wish it was longer.

All in all, a fantastic showcase of sonic warfare, and as I've mentioned I believe it to be one of, if not the best showcase of war metal to have been committed to record. I recommend this to everyone who asks about the more extreme side of metal, and to music buffs in general, for this humble demo is the tape that launched a thousand bands, all of whom ape the gods of war themselves, Blasphemy.

OK, so let me get one thing straight: I love Nuclear Death. You know, that one really weird early Grind core/ Death metal band out of Phoenix, Arizona? I love them because their sound is just completely fucking insane, almost just like ridiculously fucking insane, and chaotic, and there's just a profound surreal and unbelievable atmosphere as well, but they somehow know how to write great fucking songs that just keep me hooked, A.K.A. the essence of this sort of music...

...Well as it turns out, that's exactly the same thing that i love Blasphemy for, the music is just so over the top chaotic and brutal, but they also wrote songs that achieved an insanely dark, and barbaric atmosphere, instead of gong the route of just making an insanely dark, barbaric atmosphere, and then forgetting to write songs. Perhaps it is true that most Blasphemy songs are not that structurally complex, and could even be accused of having a predictable verse/chorus standard songwriting construction. However, these songs just have super catchy morbid riffs, which will always be better than riffs that are super morbid, but aren't catchy and just end up being boring.

The great thing about albums like this is that the reason for enjoyment is twofold: You can just put this album on for that insane, wicked atmosphere that Blasphemy usually conjures up, or you can just listen to it as a collection of super catchy Black/Death metal songs from the salad days of this extreme expression of music. By insane wicked atmosphere, I mean that this entire album is just morbidly heavy and powerful, and just sounds like a very bloody battle almost comparable to Realm of Chaos era Bolt Thrower, in that its mostly just this extremely thick and dense blast of hellish noise that maintains an almost constant blasting tempo, but again, like i said doesn't forsake good actual catchy guitar patterns to achieve this atmosphere. Every song is very memorable and can easily be remembered even without actively listening to it. The guitar lines are a mix between tremolo patterns, and power chord patterns. Each are of course extremely down tuned, and contain that just utterly revolting sound that this music thrives upon. Nothing is bubblegum pop or catchy, lame garbage, it's all powerful all the time, and is really just good ass metal music.

Production is fairly solid, especially for a low budget demo of this time period, everything is audible, except perhaps the bass, but the guitars definitely still have a lot of bite to them, so don't fret about anything being sterile, or processed or anything like that, it still gives off that atmosphere of people actually playing instruments, as opposed to robots, It's actually a superior production to both of their full length albums in my opinions, because it has the best balance of instruments. Of course all 3 are definitely recommended, and are similar in both style, and quality.

Basically, if you are a novice to this form of music, Blasphemy is fairly essential to your developing brain, now run along young one, and become acquainted with the Desolate One himself...

This is where it all begun. That 30% or so of black metal bands who play that style that sounds like nothing but chaos to the inexperienced and at its best represents the dizzying heights that black metal can be taken to. Beherit, Proclamation, Conqueror, Revenge, Archgoat… these bands would sound nothing like they do or did if it wasn’t for Blasphemy. Combining the speed of grindcore, the hardness and grit of first wave death metal, and the evil of early black metal (such as Mayhem – Deathcrush), Blood upon the Altar showcases Blasphemy’s unique take on extreme metal in its rawest, most unrefined form. Their instantly recognizable style would soon be developed and matured until it reached its peak on Gods of War four years later, but Blood upon the Altar is still an undeniable classic, the very first of its kind.

The vocals are heavily grindcore influenced, fast-paced grunts and snarls that will remind the listener of Repulsion and Napalm Death; however there is also a bit of a more typical black metal rasp to them. The lyrics are the best kind of black metal lyrics, songs about war, genocide, and satanic rites. The production does not do justice to the vocals, which are a lot better than they sound here. They never really were done justice until Gods of War; on Fallen Angel of Doom the vocals sounded even worse than they do on this demo. The vocals reinforce the grindcore feel to Blood upon the Altar, and Blasphemy have obviously derived a lot of influence from 80s grindcore, which is certainly a great style to incorporate into your music.

Blood upon the Altar is not to be missed. While their two full-lengths, especially their second, may show a more mature and carefully thought-out sound, this demo is still a great offering that not only rises above nearly every black metal album, EP or demo released since (excluding, of course, Blasphemy’s own), but its influence can be heard in nearly any black metal album these days. Next time you chuck on The Oath of Black Blood or Joined in Darkness, instead of thinking like everyone else seems to “Wow, I wish I could find another band like Beherit/Demoncy/whoever,” you’ll see the all-pervading influence of the mighty, the one and only, Blasphemy!

The title says it all - I love being wrong. Oh, wait, I should probably explain; a while ago, a friend and I were debating about which Blasphemy release was better - Gods of War, Fallen Angel of Doom or Blood Upon the Altar. He claimed that BUtA was the best, because it features the songs from debut album Fallen Angel of Doom but with a better production and with better performances. FAOD being possibly my favourite 90's BM album, I told him to fuck off. But then, I hadn't really bothered to listen to Blood... properly while - it just kind of 'existed' on the end of the CD of Gods of War, not doing much. More fool me.

Fast forward a little bit, when NWN/Osmose put out their vinyl reissue of Gods...and Blood Upon the Altar. I gave Gods a spin a fair few times, but still for some reason resisted listening to Blood. Don't get me wrong, I'd heard it a number of times before, but was for some reason so blinded by my nostalgia for FAOD that I didn't really 'take it in'. So, one day recently I decided to give it a proper chance. And it absolutely slays. The production - a demo! - is excellent; clear, solid, abrasive. The performances are top notch, although I have a feeling that the drumming is superior on the album. If you've only heard FAOD, you haven't really heard it. The rendition of 'Ritual' on this demo is truly incredible - the song is allowed to really shine, not buried beneath the over-loud vocals and drums on the album. 'Blasphemy' melts the listener's face off with it's intensity. Some of the leads are less dissonant and harsh in their nascent forms, but the depth and volume of the guitars compared to the album more than makes up for this. I could continue, but I think the message is clear.

I still love FAOD, because of the unique atmosphere that album has despite it's many faults. However, for the definitive Blasphemy experience, I'm going to stick my neck out and suggest that Blood Upon the Altar should be your first port of call.

ROSS BAY CULT ETERNAL.

The early demo material by Blasphemy takes the rawest of black metal and fuses it with an intense "death metal" style of playing. The resulting concoction was something extreme and violent to a point that it would start it's own trend (sadly) that would end up slightly tarnishing the creators legacy. Even so, Blasphemy cut through the crap and pound away with loose (but aggressive) playing that never loses time nor fades out like Venom...but also is free and swinging enough to feel like you're listening to the losing end of a street battle.

The songs set the stage for what would be typical for Blasphemy. Grinding beats, thrashing guitars and a suprising and subtle amount of variety in the playing styles. The lyrics weren't typical for the time, though now seem somewhat old-hate in forced retrospect. When they blast...they BLAST...when they thrash...they THRASH. There is no doubt that these boys take their metal as seriously as they do their brand of world-hatred. For once, the lyrics take a backseat and the music/composition does the talking. (The lyrics only drive the point home!)

Blasphemy have never really been matched in what they do. From release to release they continue to beat the shit out of a weak world with fists of metallic fury. Some may hate them for this reason or that...but the entire "war metal" trend owes them it's existence. "Kvlt" as fuck, harder thrashing than most retro-wimps could desire and more death-heavy than most current death metal...Blasphemy's work rises above. It may not be the brightest, but nobody needs to be bright when they can crush your skull and have you enjoying it the whole time.

If you can find this early demo material (attached to the "Gods of War" release if you don't want to scour for an actual copy) buy it! This is high quality face-thumping at it's best.