Possessed by the Pentacle Spell

Three years after the Laguna-based (Philippines) black metal quarter, Omenfilth, unleased the tour de force record “Devourer of the Seven Moons“, they triumphed once more in 2022 and put forward their fourth studio offering, dubbed “Possessed by the Pentacle Spell.” It was initially released in digital (by means of bandcamp) and limited edition (150 copies only) cassette variants via the American metal record label Eternal Death (the label who released the cassette format of “Hymns of Diabolical Treachery,” “Devourer of the Seven Moons” original pressings, and their “The Pact of Morbid Conspiracy” split with the Hellenic black metal band Ceremonial Worship in 2021) in July of 2022, and then a CD version also came out the same year under the banner of Poland‘s Moon Records (the same record label who reissued “Devourer of the Seven Moons” in 2021).

This record by Omenfilth punches in over 36 minutes of forbidding and chunky Hellenic-influenced black metal tunes with a guitar department that possesses strapping innuendoes of primitive proto-black metal course and melodic harmonies that bear resemblance to the Gothenburg death metal musical landscape. Like its predecessors, the overactive blasting black metal enforcement is not this album’s cornerstone (though Omenfilth can easily pull that ruse anytime they want to, as shown in some parts of this release); instead, this is brimming with aesthetic weaving of well-supplied unilluminated and enigmatical melodies and a cunning atmosphere that will take the listeners away on a journey into the realm of the abyss.

Regardless of the opposite of the hyper-blasting path that this material saunters, the aggression within the record is not omitted and is unblemished, as the band appropriately embellished the tunes in the offering with enough feisty tremolo strumming, intense thrashy black metal riff-set, fleeting ear-pounding blast beats, and substantially blaring grisly cries in the vocal section that can rival the hostility of any destructive black metal album. And they even impetuously threw in aggressive guitar solos in several songs on the album, which are prudently folded in with the canorous riffing.

What’s more impressive is that these solos provide a sense of density when they integrate with the riffs, which warrants their purpose of existence within the context of the tracks where they are utilized. Contrasting the vaguely raw intensity and power of “Devourer of the Seven Moons,” “Possessed by the Pentacle Spell” takes a more raw and piercing perspective in terms of the overall sound. This set-up gives the blending of the elements a more jarring and extreme resonance (though it sacrifices the audibility of the bass) that perfectly balances the shivering and dismal aura of the full-length without losing any of the power that Omenfilth had evoked.

As for the lyrical theme, the band went back to subjects of the black arts, which is fitting to the output that they were trying to attain in this release. But I reckon that it would have been more stunning to have witnessed them pressed on the path of covering subjects of the fascinating folklore of Philippine mythology in this fourth studio chapter of their discography. But hey, a follow-up to a very solid material does not always go straight to the path of impeccability. In my own view, this offering still illustrates how Omenfilth is right up there in the top hierarchy of the Philippines‘ black metal realm.

Now “Possessed by the Pentacle Spell” may not be as faultless as one who followed the band most of their career would expect, but its framework in amassing a coalescence of dreadful melodies and sinister ambience that is decently offset by raw power is enough to stamp the album as a force to be reckoned with in the Filipino black metal scene.