Much has been said of the Stateside contribution to extreme metal as of late, but one duo in mainland Europe are taking the post-black philosophy into even heavier, more expansive locations.
Trauma is dominated by cacophonous, relentless blastbeats crumbling wrists into dust, keeping the intensity at breaking point. It’s immersive, fierce but above all interesting.
Risks are taken and the primal energy surging through the record intertwines with the howling, wailing, yet accessible guitar lines and the snarls akin to a more pissed-off Johan Hegg. As extreme metal goes it’s more chinstroking than church-burning, but it’s an all-consuming beast. The galloping Thanatos conjures images of a corpsepainted Iron Maiden, while The Traces We Leave is an enrapturing experiment into progressive depths. Perfectly orchestrated extremity that’s not for the faint-hearted.
