Dyodyo Asema

Released on the first day of 2014, Dyodyo Asema is a collaborative effort by Belgium’s Alkerdeel and the Dutch underground institution Gnaw Their Tongues. Both bands play raw and ugly black metal, mixed with some sludge and noise-influences. As a side note, this marks Gnaw Their Tongue’s 33rd release since 2006, which must be some kind of record in prolificacy.

Dyodyo Asema sees the two bands partner up for an almost 20-minutes long exercise in sonic perversion. Emerging as a gnarly cemetery dirge, an atmosphere of death and decay is established immediately. It’s blackened sludge at its most repugnant, consisting of what sounds like a swarm of locusts feasting on rotting flesh interspersed with ominous droning. This nauseating buzzing is supplemented by guttural bellowing and psychotic screams, which all sound like they were recorded from inside a wooden coffin.

After almost ten minutes of grotesque deathscapes, the track explodes into a dense piece of rough black metal. The distorted riffs and rumbling bass evokes USBM juggernaut Leviathan, creating a hellish pummeling climax to the horror show. In contrast to the comparatively wearisome intro, the meat of the song is a striking slab of grisly fervor. The bass in particular is outstanding in its capriciousness, lashing out like the maw of some terrible beast. The track fades out as another three minutes of drone, complete with a terrified woman screaming and more distorted gargling. Not exactly a pleasant encounter, by any account.

With Dyodyo Asema, Alkerdeel and Gnaw Their Tongues obviously set out to breed uneasiness and apprehension. The result is 20 minutes of filthy droning sludge and odious black metal. The middle part alone is well worth the admission, but is somewhat dragged down by the 13 or so minutes of ambient padding bookending it. Never the less, Dyodyo Asema is effective enough that repeated listening makes me itch for a shower. Enter at your own peril.


Written for The Metal Observer