The Other Gods

I love Catacombs. The music is crushingly heavy, and haunting in an ethereal, Lovecraftian fashion that’s unmatchable. I heard about Russi’s other bands shortly after getting into Catacombs, among them Inimical. I ordered this CD a few weeks later. Research would have easily told me it was black metal, but I evidently neglected to do even that much fact finding, and so the initial blasting surprised the hell out of me. Still, the shock was only momentary.

This whole thing seems like a black metal version of Catacombs. The guitars are the main focus. They have two different styles of riffing, neither of which is all that different. They generally play what sounds like tremolo picked versions of the terrifying lead work on Catacombs debut. The other style of lead work is a single note version of the tremolo school, and literally sounds like sped up funeral doom leads. The bass is utterly inaudible, and I’m not even sure if there is one. The drumming, programmed, no doubt, is composed of nonstop blast beats throughout. The vocals are black metal shrieks, but are done with just as much skill as the growls in Catacombs. They have an enjoyable echo effect, and are quite creepy. Sadly, there are no lyrics provided.

The riff work is suitably varied to keep one interested, and its best moments, this approaches some of the Catacombs-esque creepy atmosphere that it so desperately covets. Unfortunately, things don’t always work. The riffs occasionally sound far too plain and standard, and these aren’t particularly fascinating in any way. The drumming can also become quite monotonous. While I believe the intended effect was hypnotic, they merely become pedestrian at times, and I’m not convinced that blasting is the best way to maintain a haunting atmosphere. In addition, despite the fairly minimalist nature of the songwriting, there simply isn’t as much time for the riffs to breathe, as there would be in funeral doom. As a result, some of them fail to properly sink in and it can blend together a bit at times. The best moments on the album often seem to be the few that break the mold, such as the break in The Inimical Sun (great track name, by the way), but these aren’t all that common.

This is a good, if not a great, release. If you’ve ever wondered, ‘What would happen if Catacombs woke up one morning as a black metal band, with a perpetual blast beat shoved up its ass?’ than this is for you. If you haven’t, but still like Catacombs, I’d also recommend checking it out. If you haven’t heard Catacombs, go do so now, and if you absolutely love what you hear, consider this. It’s not the masterpiece I was expecting, no one will be able to honestly say that it challenges Catacombs, but it’s very good nonetheless.