Australian Black metal royalty Pestilential Shadows return with their seventh full-length offering. The utterly unforgiving Devil’s Hammer features a rejuvenated lineup that is in symbiosis with the band’s unrelenting musical intensity.
From the opening of the title track and its frantic riffing coupled with constant blast attacks, Devil’s Hammer is dense thick and completely unforgiving. There is a complexity to the riffing that is layered and when a respite is offered, as on ‘’ Scaphism’ it is brief dripping in atmosphere and a presence that is immediately identifiable. ‘’Bitter Cross’ may start with a slower atmosphere, yet it is thicker, its anger palatable, the vocals of Balaam visceral, unrepentant. The double kicks add to the inexorable openly hostile intent, it is the march of conflict and creativity matched by the guitar work Krvna Vatra and Mourn.
Purely an onslaught of an album ‘’ Despot of Cathartic Vigor’’ never lets up for its five minutes, it is a continual assault of driving rhythms and dynamics, never stagnant, a restless angry soul that is complemented by the pure metal fury that is ‘’ Tears of The Scythe’’ and the mid-tempo fury of ’Jackal”. Being able to create music firmly rooted in tradition with modern complexity, Pestilential Shadows coalesce black metal in its honest state into a malevolent force of nature driven by sheer force of will and intensity.
Devils Hammer is an album that revels in its savagery and its complexity. It is pure Pestilential shadows and Black metal that is openly hostile to its environment. Demanding and remorseless Devil’s Hammer is highly recommended!
Pestilential Shadows: Facebook
Release Year: 2024
Label: Northern Silence Productions
Category: Album
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Sparky
