Artist: Hell Militia
Title: Last Station On The Road To Death
Type: Album
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
French black metal, a term that would have been sniggered at a decade or so ago, not anymore, in fact it is fast becoming a benchmark of quality. Members of Hell Militia have seen it all, the members of the band have been in so many of the countries acts a full list would be silly but would take in everyone from Mütiilation right though to Antaeus, Vokreist, Arkhon Infaustus and Secrets Of The Moon. With this in mind it is no real surprise that albums are few and far between and it has actually been five years between this and the rather good debut ‘Canonisation of the Foul Spirit.’ Having now heard the new one I have to admit I am kicking myself for not having gone to the recent London concert and it will probably be some time before I get another chance to see the band but at least I have ‘Last Station On The Road Of Death’ to appease me.
Put very simply this is a ‘nasty’ listen. There is something incredibly unsettling about the fetid atmosphere conveyed in this 45 minutes of music and it really does get beneath the skin and make you want to go and have a good scrub to get it out your system. Even looking at the cover art of this kind of makes me want to shiver. Starting with a sample from what sounds like a 60s drug warning educational film we slowly go into ‘Born Without Light.’ This doom laden entry point does not last long and blasts into a welter of hate filled barbarity. Meyhnach joins in, adding wretched and accursed shrieks and savage sermonising cries flung as though in deliverance to the damned. Guitars cut and LSK and Dave Terror add a thick bottom end to proceedings. Melody is in the chaos if you know how to find it, to others this would be a hellish racket and it has a really scary sort of vibe about it. The song ends with a nasty elongated rasp that seems to go on unnaturally long and would no doubt give 1349’s Ravn a run for his money. Creepy crawling into ‘Unshakable Faith’ this train is in no hurry to offload its cursed passengers as it lurches and spews its way cadaverously onward with guitars trembling as they purposely cut out, the effect making it all the more eerie and ghastly.
‘Fili Diaboli’ has an unholy bounce about it and sounds like a layer of crust is growing out of the blackness. Speaking of which lets add some punk vomit and shit and give it a stir by following it up with a vile cover of GG Allin classic ‘Shoot Knife Strangle Beat & Crucify;’ you should almost be able to taste the depravity here. By the time you arrive at the last song which shares the album title this is very much the end of the line in more ways than one. The French have delivered a nauseating journey that really is a complete descent into the pits of nihilism, something that our very own Transport For London seem to achieve on a daily basis, just not unfortunately in a musical form!
http://www.myspace.com/hell_militia
