Genre - Black Metal
- Qesar Neron
- Vials Of His Wrath
- Mortuus
- Demonic Locusts Torment
- Alpha And Omega
- Phobos Kai Deimos
- Nex Cvltvs
Nex Cultus is the
debut release by the mysterious Italian black metal barbarians ZERVM who ply
their trade grinding out raw and unashamed satanic bile that sounds not too dissimilar
to a crossover between “De Mysteriis...” era
Mayhem and the depraved insanity of Beherit. The comparisons may sound
promising, the music is somewhat decent at times but the reality is the
material present on Nex Cultus leaves
a lot to be worked upon.
Those who would consider themselves averse to black metal of the
rough and under produced variety would do well to escape now as Nex Cultus is in a nutshell just that,
no pretence just ‘in your face’ repulsiveness . The guitar riffs are ugly and repetitive,
and while basic they are occasionally surprisingly catchy. The guitar along
with the vocals are without doubt the strongest aspects of this album, although
to be honest that isn’t really saying much. The vocalist utilizes a demented
low pitched growl not too far away from Attila which adds a certain primal
element to the overall sound here.
It’s the repetition and
lack of variation that is the main problem that plagues Nex Cultus though; it’s essentially a succession of songs where
each one sounds exactly like the last, they all follow the same basic principle
and pattern while generally remaining wholly unremarkable and samey save for
the occasionally impressive riff. As stated, the production is also extremely shoddy,
fair enough many bands playing this bestial style of black metal exploit this
to their advantage but here the guitars are just too thin and there’s almost no
low end whatsoever.
Ok so it may be slightly repetitive and loose around the edges but
fans of this style of maniacal, degrading and primitive black metal may find
something here. It’s not horrible by any means and just about wavers on the
threshold of what I would consider listenable but I’ve heard a lot better and
can easily see ZERVM becoming just another raw black metal act in a sea of
others. They’ll need to up their game next time around.
5/10
Sounds like - Mayhem, Beherit, Blasphemy
Originally written for Metalcrypt
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