Anointed in Darkness - Live in Europe

To be honest I am not the biggest fan of live albums. Most of the time they come with underwhelming audio, presenting tracks that you have already heard in studio quality. Some witty comments by the band and a meager reaction by the audience (which is often the case when talking about underground metal stuff) do not really help. As a big fan of Father Befouled the announcement of the release of “Anointed in Darkness – Live in Europe” caused me to sit up and take notice. Band leader Justin is not only a great musician and songwriter, but I also really like his YT channel (where he talks about his music collection) and some of his design work for other bands. Released by the always reliable label Krucyator I gave it a spin and I have been positively surprised.

For anyone not being familiar with this band: This name is synonymous for pure annihilation and savagery for fans of grim and slimy death metal. Their aural offerings to the cavernous realms of bleak music are presented to please those who have an affection for a very dark and oppressive death metal style. The guitar work is switching between stoic and brooding parts and faster and more aggressive sections. There is a certain melodic factor in the music, but not so much at the surface but subtly woven into the overall sound, shimmering through the atonal riff and blast attacks. There are some crawling pieces where the bleak guitar sound helps creating an eerie and depressing atmosphere. All in all this music can come across quite monotone for some, but once you got used to the ritualistic groove and pummeling blasts you surely will come to appreciate what is on offer here.

The drumming is rock solid and never too hectic or nervous. This approach perfectly fits to the music and underlines the stoic yet groovy nature of the songs. Generally speaking most of the songs are pretty much straight forward and one might argue that the record sounds a bit simplistic over the whole running time. Listening closely you are going to find out that there are some subtle variations of the single parts implemented within the tracks making the whole record sound like one connected piece of music, with each song dripping into the next one. Some of the tracks are more memorable than others but in the end this album is fun to listen to from start to finish. The absolutely deep and ghoulish vocals by Justin are the icing on the cake, sounding vicious and nihilistic.

For a live recording the sound is pretty good here. This music anyway asks for a raw and rotten production, and thanks to a good mix the overall sound quality is not too far off a studio record. The songs have been taken from their more recent albums from 2010 onwards, so there is nothing really new, except maybe some small variations. The audience is maybe a bit quiet, but maybe this is due to the recording being done directly via the soundboard. It seems that the first tour in Europe is something of which the band is proud of, and this is the reason why they decided to use this occasion to produce such an output. While this might not be a full compensation for a new album it is great little gem to add to the collection. And it is also a great chance to get a first picture of one of the best death metal outfits of our time.