I have to admit, I’m not a massive fan of Hells Headbangers, as their primarily dirty black/thrash spikes and Satan roster doesn’t do a whole lot for me. But when they kick out some real nasty death metal like  Deiphago  or Sanguis Imperum, they seem to hit it out of the park. And such is the case with the debut from Russian trio , Pseudogod.

Though its the band’s debut, they have been active with various splits, demos and compilations since 2006, and that has all come to fruition with the monstrous Deathwomb Cathechesis. The style of Pseudogod is a form of churning ugly, discordant death metal along the lines of the aforementioned label mates Sanguis Imperum as well as Antediluvian, Corpsessed, Teitanblood, or Ignivomous. There’s also a bit of bestial black/death metal vibe that has slight nods to the likes of Conqueror, Blasphemy and even a bit of the French black metal scene (i.e Blut Aus Nord). It’s tangibly filthy and murky, but not so discordant and chaotic where is treads in to Portal -ish realms, as there is a malevolent, militant  restraint amid the vortex of muddy riffs and other worldly bellows.

Regardless of what influences are or are not at play on Deathwomb Cathechesis, the end result is phenomenal. It’s a blistering, ugly, seething release but has just enough control and sinister prose to be just a little more than just a pure cacophony of noise.  From the opening salvo of the aptly named  “Vehement Decimation” to lengthy, lurching closer “The Triangular Phosphorescence” (where the Blut Aus Nord aura is thick) each note  and riff drips with insidious, yet intelligent omnipresence. Songs are not necessarily parsed out or stand out  and riffs are not traditionally prevalent, but rather the album is a presence; a claustrophobic, asphyxiating aura where the churning guitars and pummeling drums constrict further with each breath and the typical paradigms of death metal are deconstructed and sacrificed then reborn as ritual throes, not sounds.

While the majority of the album is an atonal, blistering blur, Pseudogod smartly break things up with plenty of slower, still atonal lopes and lurches. A perfect example is “Malignant Spears” where the track’s initial savagery gives way to a solid Incantation-y march. The same could be said for the absolutely monstrous “Saturnalia (The Night of the Return)”, where the opening cavernous blast gives way to a oozing, crawling mid section. “Azazel” might have the most effective segue amid the chaos though, as its introduced with some horrifying gasp and moans as well as an eerie solo. But with all the menacing  marches and nebulous crawls, the album is still about skin crawling blasts and hellish vocals and the likes of “Encarnacion Del Mal” and “Necromancy of the Iron Darkness” deliver it in filthy, rotten, cavernous spades.

Deathwomb Cathechesis is highly recommended for death metal fans that want their death metal to physically affect them and cause paranoia and nausea with each listen.

 

 

 

 

 

[Visit the band's website]

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