Apolokia V

If anyone has a better example of what metal can be, then tell me what it is. Way ahead of their time. Genre defying work as far as I am concerned. People may call it single person BS, poor production etc let the C-baggers blabber on. Nothing I have heard sounds like this. Gritty yes, evil yes, does it sound like your ear is being vaporized while your voice unintentionally gasps in astonishment? Yes. I cannot just call it bestial or black or war metal propaganda. I will tell you it is fucking heavy. Listening suggestion? Turn your bass down to minus 5 or 6 and crank this Mofo.

Looking at the release purely from a visual perspective makes me smile. Ruined grey, Washed-out, time tested emptiness, AK rounds, embossed leather, penta-this, penta-that. The CD growls at the listener like a caged dire wolf before it is even opened. Gazing upon the CD gives a challenging fist as well as a seducing chant. People who love heavy traditional imagery will get a kick out of it and newbie metal core/deathcore fans will probably copy it. Rightfully so in both regards, it is a damn cool look. It is also a constant theme throughout the lifespan of Wargoatcult one can see developed from one release to the next. I could go on about what the visuals that this release shows as well as what visuals it inspires within the experience of the listener however let’s move on.

Innovative? I love when artists such as but not limited to musicians create new words, phrases, what-have-you. Apolokia V is exactly what I am talking about. Classic wordplay. The lyrics are brutal and sinister without being overstated. The titles are crazy sounding but they match the intensity of the music.

Now what the band has done from a composition stand point is commendable. Songwriting means arranging ideas to convey an idea. There is great usage of tempo changes not found on some earlier Wargoatcult releases. The riffs and songs transfer seamlessly from one to another whether by drums fill or riff change. With this said the guitars are where the music exceeds expectations.

Guitars on this release sound more like midi organs than actual guitars. I love the tonal brutality achieved here. The guitars sound more like a single tremolo note in a midi file versus a full on guitar chord. I suggested earlier listening to this album with the bass turned way down and the guitars are the reason why. This is the reason I think the guitars sound more like organs on this album. When you turn this album up with negative bass the riffs sound like they are roaring animalistic ancestors, not instruments. The speakers have nowhere to go they just growl and croak. Flooding the room with flowing magma like brutality. Again, very heavy stuff here. I could go on trying to crystallize how the guitars sound on this release but there is much more to say with less and less time to say it.

Drums are great on this album however this is where my criticism of the release comes to be. The drum fills are either fast triplets or slower emphatic fills -- nothing in between. Other Wargoatcult releases are filled with different types of fills. Now with this said, the drums are brutal. I mean the blast beats and drum rhythms are amazing, the fills are complex and difficult. The fills just needed a bit of variation.

The best part of this release is the vocals. They are here and not here, unfathomable, apparition- like. Haunting comes to mind, ecstatic and ethereal. Calls and incantations enunciated with ghoulish ferocity. Echoing into or out of oblivion. The lyrics follow a classic format, they sound as if they were emphatically whispered into the listeners soul by an evil incantation. Indifferently killing the listener and stealing what forsaken soul one has yet to destroy themselves.

Heavy fucking metal. Like my review? Like this band? I could not give a fuck either way. I love this band, this release especially. Support this band and reread my rationale why doing so is worth your time and mine.

Hail Satan!