Pseudogod: Deathwomb Catechesis

I have to admit that the Hellsheadbangers label is a new one on me, however having been lucky enough to receive three of their new releases for review recently, they are certainly a label I'll be keeping an eye on from now on. You should too if solid, no frills metal of all variety floats your boat, what with the recent releases from Holy Shit, Witchtrap and now Pseudogod all taking on different areas of the metal genre and coming out on top every time. In the case of Pseudogod, we are heading off into extreme metal, with the Russian band putting together a mighty show of force as they blend a traditional black/death assault with an altogether more refined outcome. Not that this is in any way a "soft" album, rest assured that if you want all out attacks of furious drumming, gnarly, guttural vocals and brutish guitars that hammer along at ear melting velocity, then Pseudogod will quench your bloody thirst. However they also avoid the cookie cutter pitfalls of simply regurgitating what has come before, or adding more "modern" elements" to appeal to the kiddiewinks out there. Instead this is a band who weave convoluted, dare I say slightly progressive themes into their blackened framework, resulting in an album which ebbs and flows in a way that metal of this uncompromising nature seldom does. I'm not talking full on prog here, but Deathwomb Catechesis is capable of doing so much more than simply steamrollering with foreboding power, with the guitar attack always grinding and screeching from theme to theme, creating an atmosphere, that while dark and threatening, also offers up weightier shards of light that offer something dangerously different to grasp hold of - if you are brave enough.

Whether through "Malignant Spears", "Azazel", "Encarnacion Del Mal", or "Vehement Decimation", Pseudogod expertly combine power with precision and straight ahead annihilation with pulsating twists and turns. The cleverest aspect of this album is not that it has the capability to shape shift throughout, but that it does so without actually encumbering the fatal force required to make shredding guitars and pummelling drums as full on as they need to be.

Psuedogod should be on the radar of anyone who likes their metal to do what is says on the tin, while still breaking the mould. And so should Hellsheadbangers!

Track Listing
1. Vehement Decimation
2. Malignant Spears
3. Saturnalia (The Night Of The Return)
4. Azazel
5. The Antichrist Victory
6. Necromancy Of The Iron Darkness
7. Encarnacion Del Mal
8. The Triangular Phosphorescence

Added: July 14th 2012
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: HellsHeadbangers Online
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Language: english

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