My normally infallible filing system let me down badly with this particular album as I only noticed the other day that it hadn’t been reviewed, yet it was sent to me in August last year but somehow fell through the cracks. But given how long it took for the band to actually produce their debut full-length album then this is actually a fairly short time frame. The Portuguese band aNgreNOST (their use of capitals in the band name carries through into the song titles as well) was formed back in 1995 by Pursan and Ainvar (Sirius), and together they released the EP “Evil” in 1997 but in 1998 they broke up. After a mere twelve years Pursan decided that the times was right to resurrect the group, without Ainvar, and brought in Erdsaf and Enobólico from Wavelength Satan to create the trio that recorded the album.
Musically this is Black Metal through to their very core, although there are some science fiction and industrial influences going on as well. It is violent, it is oppressive, with some over the top effects that really add to the bleakness and iciness coming out of the speakers. The more I listen to this the more I am reminded of the mighty Anaal Nathrakh, as they have a similar approach in some ways, with some elements of Axis of Perdition thrown in for good measure. This is extremely powerful stuff, and there is no room at all for the fainthearted, as the only way to listen to this is at full volume, and when played like this there is a demonic brutality that is plain for all to hear. This is an incredible debut in many ways, and one can only hope that by being signed to Code 666 they will get the recognition they so obviously deserve and come back with some more material in the near future.
www.code666.net
