Artist: Black Witchery
Title: Inferno Of sacred Destruction
Type: Album
Label: Osmose / Hells Headbangers

This turned up at the perfect time, just before I get to see Black Witchery play their second live ritual in London. Now I will be able to stand at the front and hear the opening bars of a song and think, “ah yes its such and such a song from the new album.’ (Or you would have done if the show hadn't been cancelled! LH) Well I lied there but will try my best not to be face down in the bass bin, alcoholically poisoned and deaf for the next six weeks but that is what Black Witchery are all about, creating an unholy racket that would not even be considered music to most of the human race. This trio of bestial fiends were spawned out the Winter Springs region of Florida and released their first demo back in 1999. They have since then only released a few split EP’s, live DVD’s and now this is their third album following on from the very well received ‘Upheaval Of Satanic Might’ in 2005.

As with the previous albums there is no room for fucking about here and everything is knocked out in brutal fashion in under the 30 minute mark. Voices and demonic sounds fill up the speakers with necromantic flair like a horrid Lovecraftian ritual as we enter ‘Intromancy.’ Once the gates are breeched we are delivered unto ‘Holocaustic Church Devastation’ a vile and deconsecrated place. A rasp is spat out full force and the guitars scythe in playing hell for leather, so fast that you can imagine skin flailing off and blood splattering the instrument from shredded fingers. There are those hollow demonic sounding booming vocal effects and elongated grunts hurled out occasionally but apart from this it is a case of yelling hellishly and playing like the devil is snapping at your heels. You are literally scorched with a sound like a dragon belching flames before the song abruptly ends and horrible croakings come out the mists as the effective segue into ‘Antichrist Order of Holy Death.’ Then Impurath comes as close to actually singing as he is likely to get, not that you can quite make out the no doubt foul and blasphemous lyrics. I do find the sudden abrupt ends to numbers a bit vexing at times I must admit, it is almost as though the band are too cautious to let things progress but then again progression is probably not a word in the group’s musical vocabulary. One thing finishes and the next is flung at you with the speed and fury hitting like a bruise to the very soul.

A track dissection is hardly necessary, if you have never heard music of such savagery it may come as a total shock but then again it was probably not designed for you. This is pure blasphemy by both name and nature, crushing, unholy and definitely not for wimps and poseurs. Having said that the full blooded and fleshed out production really allows the grime to actually shine as well as slither and scream at you and as the razor, scalpel shards of the guitar work on ‘Kingdom Against Kingdom’ attack it is a wonder that this sounds so good rather than a lo-fi mess. Finishing with a lowing groan and silence it feels as though the world has been swallowed!

http://www.myspace.com/blackwitchery