Here’s the deal. If you get all uppity about black/war metal productions that are about 1,000 miles from Pro-Tools and can’t deal with a mix that, for the most part, buries the guitars in a maelstrom of blasts, includes a bass….ah shit, forgot about the bass, ain’t no bass, and hatefully sermonizes with harsh, abrasive vocals that make your throat hurt just thinking about ‘em, then stay away from Deiphago’s Filipino Antichrist. This is a goddamn, off the friggin’ rails Satanic assault in which modern conventions of melody are stuffed into a long glass tube that is broken to bits with a ball peen hammer after it has been inserted into your shaft.

Truth be told, I would prefer that the guitars be at least a little more audible and the whammy-bar freak-out be more ear-piercing, but that’s about my only, albeit very minor, complaint. Hey, who you callin’ a pussy!? Anyway, it is the whole of the aural terror that creates an energy all its own, one that transcends ideas of instrument separation and song structure. In other words, assuming you can handle this absurdly abrasive end of the black metal spectrum, it works; just like it works on an early Profantica album. And speaking of “musical” reference points, Filipino Antichrist is also cut from the same blood stained cloth as the early works of Beherit, Blasphemy, Archgoat…you know the list.

By goat, Filipino Antichrist is 29 minutes of extreme mind melt that obnoxiously batters the senses at maximum volume. “Storming Chaos,” “Satanic Metal,” “Satan, Semen, and Blood,” a cover of Sarcofago’s “Hate…” Do you think those song titles speak to concepts of law, order, and polite, enlightened debate? If you do in fact think that, then allow me to paraphrase these words from comedic sage Denis Leary: “Open ass, insert head.”

[Visit the band's website]

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