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▓█▌▐█▌  ▓▀    ▀▀ ▓▀   ▀▓    ▀▀▀    ██▓ ██ ▀▀               ▀  █▌       ▓ ▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▐█▓ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▓██▄█▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀   ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▌▀ ░▓█▓░ ▀█▄                ▓▐█▀▀                      ░▓█▓░ ░█▓░░  ▓                      ▓        ▓░▓█░  ░▓▄█████▄░   ▄ ▄  ▓▄██████▄░  ░▐██▀▀▀▀███▓░ ▀▓▀ ▀▓▀ ░███▀▀▀▀██▄▓ ▀▀▀   ▀▀▀▀▀▀  ▀▀▀▀▀   ▀▀▀ ███  ████▀    ▄▀▀▄▄█████▄▄ ▄▄█████▄▄▀▀▄   ▀████   ██  ██   ▀██▄▐▄  ■ ▄██▀▀ ▀██▄ ▄ ▄██▀ ▀▀██▄ ■ ▄ ▄██▌   ▐█▓  ░▓▄   ▀██▄▀▓█▄▄▄█▀▀ ▄ ▄▓▓▄ ▐█▌ ▌ ▀▓▀ ▐▓▓▌ ▄▓▓▄ ▄ ▀▀▓▄▄░▄██▀   ▄▀      ▓░▓▄███   ▐▀ ▀▓▀ ▀▀ ▄██▀ ▀██▄ ▀▀ ▀▓▀  ▀███▄ ▓▓        ▄██▀▓   ■ ▀▄▀ ▀▄▀ ■   ░▀███░       ▓███▓     ░░ ▐▌ ▐▌     ░███▓      ███▌░  ▀ ▀ ███▓    ▐██▀ ▀███░   ██▌  Artist...: Slaughtbbath ░▐██▌  ░▐██   Album....: Alchemical Warfare  ░██▌░ ▓▐██   Year.....: 2020  ▓▐██▓ ▓▐██   Rel.Date.: 2020-08-09  ░▐██▓  ▐██   Genre....: Black Metal   ██▌░ ░ ██▌  Label....: Old Temple   ██▌    ▐██  Source...: CD  ▐██    ░▐██▌ Type.....: Reissue ▐██▌░  ▓▄████ Quality..: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint 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 ▄██▀ ░▌█░▄░██░░▐▌  ▄ ░▌▄░░░▄▌░▌▀    ← ▄  ░  █  ▄██▀    ░░▓  ░▀█▐█▀▀▀▀▀ ▐▄██▀▀█▌░░▌   ▀░▀ ░▌ ▀░▀   ▐ █ █ █▄▐▓▓▌        ▀▄▄  ██▌▒ ░▄░  █▐▓░▐░   ░ ░▌▄     ░▌ ▄ ░ ██ ▀▓▓▓▄▄ ░▬▓░ ▐██▀▀▀▓░  ▐█▌░ ▌░    ███▄░  ░▌  ▀ ▄  █ ███   ▄      █▄▄██ ░░    █▐░ ▐▓  ▐▓██░ ░▓▓     ▀██▄  ███  ███▌   ▀░▀ ░▀██▌      ▐▓▌░ ▌░ ▐▓█▓    █ ░     ▐▓▓▌ ███ ▓████░  ▐█▌▄▄    ░ █▐▓ ░▌░  ░█▓▌░ ░  ▌         ▄▄▓▓▓▀  ███ ▐█▓██░ ▒▐▌ ░▄██ ██░  ▄▄█▌▌░▄█░░░░░██░░   ▓▌  ░      ░░▌ ▀▀▓▌░ ██▌░ ████░ ▄██▄░  ▄▄███ ▄██▄▄    █▓▓░▓█▓▓▄█▓▓▓░▌░░   ░█  ▄▄▓▄░▀▄█▓░▓▄▀▀▀█ ██▌▓░████▓░   █▌░  █████▌ ▀██▀▀  ▓▀▀▀▓▄ █▄█▐█▓▓▓█▌▓░ ░░ ▐▄▄▄▄█▓ ▄░  ░ ▒█████ ███▓▄████▓    █▌  ▐██ ██▌ ░██    ▄█ ░▄▄░▓██▀███▄▄▄██▀░▓▄▓█▀▀░░ ▀▒ █░ ░ ░ ▄▀▀█▄ ██████████████████████████▄██▄▄▓█░▬██▄███▀░░░█▓▄▄▄█░▄▄▄▬▐█▓▄▓▓▓▓▄█▀▀█▄▄█▀░▄██▄ ████▀███████████▓███████████████▀▓▓▀▐▌█▌█▀░▐█▀▀░ ▐███▄█▄▌░  ▀▄█░░░▌▄░░▄▓░▐▓▄▓▀ ██▄▓▄████████████████████▓████████████▓▌███▓░░░▄░░░░███▓░█████▀░▀▐ ▓▓▓▐▓█████ ████████▄▄███████████████████▐████████████████████████████████████▓█▌██████ ▓█░▓▄▄▄████▄▓▀ ▄▄▓ ▄▄▄░█▌ ░▄▀▀▄█▓░ ▓▓█░████▓███░██▀▓▓███▓ ▓██▓▐█▌ ███▄▄   ▐███▄ ▓▄█▀▀  ▐█▄█▀  ▄▀▀░ ▄█▀░ ░ ▓████████▐██████▓█▓ ▓█ ██  ░█▓ ▐█▄▓██▄██▄▐█▌░   ▐██▌▓▄█▀▓    ▄▄▀▀▀▀▄▄▄ ▓██▓▓▓▀▄████▐░███ █░█▌▄ ▐█▀██▀ ██▀   ▀███▄▄█▓ ███████▄▓▀▀▀▀▄▓  ░▄██▓ ▓ ▓██▓▀▄█████▓ ▄▄▀▀▓▄▄█▄▐█▄▄▓▄▄▄▄▄▄▄░▄░░░▄▄▀▄▄▀█░▄▄▄▄▄▄▐█▌ ▄██▀▄▄▄▄▄▄ ██░████ ▓     ░  ▓██░                        ▓█▄█▀     ▓██████            ▀▀▄▓                      ▓▀▀▀       ▓ █    1. Ritual Bloodbath 2:53 2. Resuscitated by Immortal Scorn 2:51 3. Cavern of Misanthropy 4:36 4. Prophetic Crucifixion 3:08 5. Rejoined into Chaos 5:32 6. Alchemical Warfare 2:30 7. Amulets of Carnage 3:33 8. Celestial Overthrow 4:25 9. Ascension to the Dragon's Throne 5:01 ------ 34:29 Flaying rotten flesh from enchanted skeletal fingers the first fist of a hundred plunges through the fetid, dank hiding place for the worm-ridden æsavioræ whoÆd been freshly buried in slashed and spearÆd form. The horror of the noise, a din of cracking bones and crumbling rock, from every angle frightens not the corpse lain upon a slab in the center of the tomb. He is eternally dead. He never would have risen yet the sorcery tunneling towards the False Oneæs place of rotten rest intends to ensure no corporeal speck remains of the fabled empath. OÆ the splatter of these barbarian skeleton arisen, revolting in their hammering of one arm held as a club in the other, as they make quick paste of the supposed creatorÆs kin Ætil even the anaerobic worm and rotten bacterium are burst down to their very cells. Anxious in their quest to defile pious corpses further these monstrosities fling open the stone entombment and set upon the cradle of all humanity with bloodied bone-fists and shrieking crystalline eyes. A shatter of glass and an incantation whirled topples the warriors in service to the necrotic defiler of the æChristÆ, an alchemist and a ghoul-conjurer in defiance of the easily swayed masses. Bottling the paste of the ælambÆ and poisoning the tomb, the tone for the coming war against piety is set alight. From those ancient fires burns an on-raging sect of diabolic shaman in the depths of San Vicente de Tagua Tagua, Chile persist and stoically thrive under the name Slaughtbbath. They of vitalized black/death traditions burn at a rate ten times their peer as these highland destroyers unleash their second full-length sized opus æAlchemical WarfareÆ here in cataclysmic 2019. Though youÆd be astute to suggest there are many bands similar to Slaughtbbath today, those that focus on equal measures of black, thrash, and death metal influences in creation of brutal and high friction black/death metal on the cusp of war metal noise, but when theyÆd kicked into gear back in 2002 this wasnÆt necessarily yet such a refined middle ground between said compatible sub-genres. There is no denying that compatriots Perversor, Force of Darkness and to some degree Hades Archer each have a similar glint in their eye that suggests indomitable riffcraft and blackened ultra-violence in performances yet Slaughtbbath remain distinguishable from their Chilean brethren even today thanks to uniquely propulsive battery and a raw chainsawed approach to thrashing death infused bestial black metal. That violence must initially stem from early Sarc≤fago on some level but æAlchemical WarfareÆ resembles a refinement of something more advanced in its blasphemic mayhem, closer to Bestial Mockeryæs æChristcrushing HammerchainsawÆ crossed with the overblown death-howling righteousness of Sacrocurse circa æGnostic HolocaustÆ. Most would find Force of Darkness a close enough comparison but I find æAlchemical WarfareÆ slightly more classic æbrutalÆ thrash-minded in terms of composition. You wouldnÆt be far off considering early Necrophobic (see: ôAscension to the DragonÆs Throneö) either, but clearly Slaughtbbath are much more in line with the black/bestial machine beyond their stronghold in the south. The first thing you should notice upon firing up ôRitual Bloodbathö is just how unstoppable this brutal storm of an introduction is and that the pace keeps up throughout; From the descent of the introductory riffs towards the screaming solo that kicks the song off it becomes clear that æAlchemical WarfareÆ finds the band focusing on razor-sharp blackened thrash duality with their stripped down yet entirely full sounding approach to ye olde bestial attack. The style of the band remains riff-driven throughout. As the tracks blow by, it is clarified that Perversor and Slaughtbbath are on a similar level of speed and intricacy despite offering relatively unique takes on the black/death/thrashing front simultaneously. Vocalist/bassist D. Desecrator is the linchpin here as he delivers an even more animated and blasphemic performance compared to the seemingly unconquerable æHail to FireÆ (2013). Songs like ôProphetic Crucifixionö have all the more power behind them because of how consistently frantic the energy that the band brings is but, it is the slower pyre-burn of ôRejoined Into Chaosö where I began to see æAlchemical WarfareÆ as more than just another good/up-to-par release from Slaughtbbath. To be fair the standards were fairly high to begin with and the six year wait between records had become daunting. The legacy and the vitality of this well-regarded band remain not only intact but doubly egregious in their blasphemic assault today. IÆm not sure IÆve heard a black metal song as goddamned throttled and thrashing hard as ôCelestial Overthrowö this year, save maybe Ares Kingdomæs record, and that song alone is worth a full listen; Even better when paired with the adjacent finale of ôAscension to the DragonÆs Throneö. I sure as hell feel like IÆve gotten my moneys worth buying an album like this that manages to impress back to front without a shred of front-loaded nonsense imbalancing the weight of this fine Slaughtbbath album. That well-considered consistency is a mark of pride for the band and shows theyÆre not just cranking out quick, under-baked shit like so many other black/death bands are today. Highly recommended. For preview purposes IÆd suggest starting with the pairing of ôRitual Bloodbathö and ôRejoined in Chaosö for the first two big peaks of the record while making sure not to miss my favorite track, the witching death-thrasher ôCelestial Overthrowö. --- In many ways the true heir to SarcofagoÆs legacy, ChileÆs Slaughtbbath return with their second LP, æAlchemical WarfareÆ released this September. These days we call this æblackened thrashÆ. ItÆs rippingly fast, primitive, atonal thrash metal channelled through the blender of sporadic tremolo strumming and tritone breakdowns that lends it that early black metal feel. The production is anything but old school however. Compression is the name of the game, with any nod to subtlety expelled. This unsubtle power provides the foundation to the relentless pummelling that is æAlchemical WarfareÆ. All the ingredients are there. Riffs leading the way, with simple shifts in pitch dictating the intensity of each track, and drums free to switch tempos and rhythm almost independently of the guitars. Vocals are a basic monstrous growl that cuts through the mix surprisingly well given the overpowering guitars, all lyrics being easily audible. With such a tight rhythmic foundation, solos are free to come and go as they choose, again adding intensity sans tempo changes, rather than determining the direction of the music. With all that in mind I am somewhat torn over æAlchemical WarfareÆ. On the one hand it is exactly my bag. Maybe I was dropped on my head as a child, maybe IÆm intellectually deficient, but I just canÆt seem to get enough of these primitive, thrashing riffs atop relentless blast or d-beats. I would happily listen to nothing else. And Slaughtbbath certainly tick these boxes with a thick, black line. On the other hand æAlchemical WarfareÆ is not bringing anything new to the table even if we channel down to the compositional architecture beneath the noise. Now IÆm the last person youÆll find criticising lack of originality. Most bands that try and develop themselves as musicians from album to album fucking suck. If youÆre on to a good thing û which Slaughtbbath have been since their inception û then donÆt change. But I cannot in good conscious recommend AC as an objectively worthy album, because I am acutely aware that my love for it is because thereÆs something wrong me. One can appreciate it as a flawlessly executed representative of its style. But thereÆs no shortage of primitive blackened thrash û even within the career of Slaughtbbath û to make this a notable addition to the archives. But if you suffer from the same mental shortcomings as myself (and I know thereÆs a few of you out there), then æAlchemical WarfareÆ is the business.                                                                                                     ▀▀░                                                                                                                ░▄▀                                  ▄█▀                                             ░▄           ░▐███░               ▀█░▄▄▄                    ▄░       ▀█░░                      ░           ▀▀░                                         ▄  ░                                          ▄     █          ▀                 ▄              ▄█▄ ▄ ██▄         ▀░▀     ▄         ▀                ▀░▀   ▀         ▀▀████████▀░                   ▀ ▄      ░                      ░░       ░▀██▀                    ▀██▄                ▄               ▐     ░      ░  █▀▄    ▐▓▓▌   █                    ▄   ▄▄       ░                    ▄▄▌█  ▄▄▓▓▓▀  ▄                      ▄ ▀   ████      ░                   ▐███▌  ░ ░                  ▄██▀     ▄▄██▄▄           ░           ▄▄███▄▄ ▄  ▓                         ▐▓▓▌  ░   ▓████▄        ▀          ▀    ▓█████▓  ▀ ▄                           ▀▓▓▓▄▄   ▐▓███ ▌                       ▌█████      ▀██▄   ▄                ░▄  ▀▀██▄▐████ ▌▐ ▌▓                ▓▐ ▌█▓███       ▐▓▓▌ ▀░▀           █    █  ░ ░▓▐████▄▌▐ ▌▌ ▌▌▐ ▌▐▄ ▐▐·▌▌▐▐ ▐ ▄█████    ▄▄▓▓▓▀                            ▓ ▓▐████ ▌▐ ▌▌ ▌▌▐ ▌▐▐▓▐▐ ▌▌▐▐ ▐ ▌█████ ▄█▓▀▀  ▄░ ░            ▄▄▄░      ▓     ░▐████▄▌▐▄▌▌▄▌▌▐ ▌▐▐▄▐▐▄▌▄▐▐▓▐▄▌█████ ▓     █               █████      ▐▄░   ▓▐████ ▌▐ ▌▌ ▌▌▐ ▌▐▐ ▐▐ ▌▌▐▐▓▐ ▌█████   ▓░   ▄         ▐▓    █▓███░    ▓▐█░▄▄  ▐████ ▌▐ ▌▌ ▌▌▐ ▌▐█ ▐▐ ▌▌▐▐ ▐ ▌█████    ▄██▄ ▀ ▄      █▌    █████▓   ██▀█▀▀   ▐█▓██ ▌▐ ▌▌ ▌▌▐ ▌▐▐ ▐▐ ▌▌▐▐ ▐ ▌███▓█   ▐█▓██▓   ▀██▄ ▀██▀   █████▓░    ▓█▌    ▐████▓▌▐▄▌▌▄▌▌▄ ▌▐▐▄▐▐▓▌▌▐▐▄▐▄▌█████   ▐████▌    ▐▓▓▌▓█▌   ▄█▓███▄░     ▐█▄▓  ▐████ ▌▐ ▌▌ ▌▌▐ ▌▐▐ ▐▐ ▌▌▐▐ ▐ ▀█▓███   ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓▓▀  █▓  ████████▄▄▓ ▄█████▌ ▐████ ▌▐ ▌▌ ▌▌▐ ▌▐▐ ▐▐ ▌▌▐▐▓▐ ▌█████   ▓████▌░ ▄▄   ▄▄█▄▄ ██████████████████████████████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄     █████  ░██▓████▓██▓▓██████ █░█████▄▀█▄░████████▄▄▄▄▄██████▓████████░██████▄▄▄▄▄███████░▄██░█░█████████ ▓██▀█████▓░░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░░░▓███▓█████ ████████▓ ▓██▓▐████▓ ▓██ █░███ █░██████▓ ███▓▄▀█▓ ▓ ▓█████▓███████ ▓███ ░▄▄▄▓████▓ ▓████████▓ ▓██████▓ ▓████▓