Satanic Self-mutilation

Always confronting, always balanced between disgustingly ugly and raw, with moments of serenity and despondent calm.
This release is especially grim and uneasy, Verwesung brings an unmatchable hateful energy, presented in a smoky, oily fog. Meandering, aimless riffs guide the tracks along in a disorienting haze, it'd be wrong to say this is 'primitive' - as it wanders freely without coming down to earth or slamming out one-note jams too often. In an Ildjarn-esque manner, tracks are sometimes cut short, axe-murdered even.

The opener, 'Razor-Sharing Black Metal' sets the tone, followed by the hypnotic, brooding 'Satanic Self Mutilation'. In a similar way, 'Aeon of Agony' creeps along in a jarring disjointed manner, gloomy chants auto-suggesting self abuse. Of course at this point you are reminded of the greats, Profanatica, Havohej, Abruptum, Vlad Tepes, early Absurd to name a few.

A homage to Mutiilation appears with a cover of 'Destroy Your Life For Satan'. This definitely captures the essence of the original. Now we enter a very peculiar part of the release, vampiric organ sounds, high shrieks, spastic riffs, the astral opening of demonic portals through use of psychedelic drugs! In the thrown-together style of Grausamkeit (et al) but with a certain creepy element that really gets under your skin. 'Ich verwese lebending in dem Schatten meiner Selbst' is like an evil campfire story staged in a derelict theatre.

The tracks that follow on push you further into this carnival of decay, buried beneath layers of rot. Horror-ambience, raven caws, dusty atmospheres and a total disregard for making 'nice melodies' on the keyboard. Further into the smoggy thickness of demo-quality recordings, we're presented with a few 'Alternate Vocal Versions' - riffwork similar to early Burzum, even has a slight groove to it... for at least 10 seconds. You can hear the buzz of the BOSS Metal Zone's battery on 'These Woods are Cursed' and the snare reflecting off the gas tanks walls.

The 'Untitled's' follow, with a harsh, noisy, clipping, metallic nastiness. Bugs are crawling beneath your scalp by this stage. Yes I've mentioned a handful of comparable acts, but Verwesung is in a class of it's own, in it's sickness and raw, rehearsal quality output. This may be a very challenging listen to those who haven't, er, acquired the taste (...I ate cigarette butts as a kid).

This collection is 41 minutes of pure madness, filth, and nostalgic 90's raw blackmetal worship that sinks into your pores. Quite a journey, and highly recommended for anyone who is dedicated to the underworld of harsh, raw, noxious satanic black metal!

93/100 -- Sean - Swampkult Productions.