VERDOEMD – ‘The Black Heresy Will Prevail’ (2020)

VERDOEMD – ‘Black Heresy Will Prevail’ (2020)

CONCEIVED, PERFORMED AND PRODUCED by the multi-talented Belgian Glenn Maesschalck (ex-KOSMOKRATOR/SERPENT MASS/EVIL SHEPHERD), VERDOEMD (which means ‘damned’ in Dutch) is a one man death/thrash project influenced by old school masters like CELTIC FROST, early SLAYER and VENOM, but beefed up with an injection of black metal speed that takes it beyond those bands in terms of aggression and precision. This - their first album - is  a collection of dirty, spiky, leather-and-hell metal songs with crushing riffs, chaotic solos of the Tom Warrior school, and bilious growls of the kind found on SERPENT MASS’ 2019 demo ‘Mass Of The Serpent’. Fierce, chainsaw guitars are interwoven with dbeat-driven punk licks and staccato rhythms that change pace frequently as the mood switches schizophrenically between genres.

Tracks like ‘Metamorphosis’ and the ghoulish ‘Avatar’ are neither black, death, or punk, but a promiscuous mixture of all three, infused with the kind of malicious energy found on POSSESSED’s ‘Seven Churches’ or HELLHAMMER’S ‘Satanic Rites’. ‘Black Heresy Will Prevail’ and ‘Total Eradication’ are pounding old-school thrashers infested with blast beats like maggots on a corpse, with double bass drums thundering amidst a cacophony of cymbals and punishing chords. Elsewhere, the doleful ‘Enter The Mass Grave’ marches on like a dirge for the funeral of the human race. In places Maesschalck’s gruff, werewolf-on-steroids ranting brings to mind Matt Pike from HIGH ON FIRE, and it is partly this which prevents the sound falling too easily into the straight black metal bracket.

VERDOEMD might be firmly rooted in the old-school, but it’s no retro rehash, and there are plenty of original ideas. This debut manages to convey a sense of 1^st wave ruggedness and grit through a sound that is clear and powerful, possessing the kind of raw brutality that makes the blood boil and the head bang. In other words, it’s raw without sounding like it was recorded in a toilet, and fast without losing coherence, and the vocals provide an alternative to the ubiquitous, high-pitched BM screech. So, if you enjoy your thrash dark and moody and fast, seething with malice and fire and an undercurrent of violence, then ‘Black Heresy Will Prevail’ should prove a worthwhile investment.

 

J.Cooper (2020)