As we approach the end of the harvest season and begin to submerge into the darker months, there is perhaps no better soundtrack than black metal. While the genre has taken on many variations, we continue to be drawn to its most primitive form. This brings us to a punishing split release by Nebraska's Verräter and Sxuperion. Rising from the desolate landscapes of the American heartland, this cassette was released on Samhain 2015 but we felt it necessary to revive the offering just in time for this year's festival. Featuring 3 tracks from Brvtalist favorite Verräter and 5 from Sxuperion, this is brvtality in its purest form.
Verräter commences the anguish with "Malignant.Benign," a stripped down, harrowing track that infects the the deepest corners of the mind and spirit. "Vagrant" continues the assault with a violent attack from an unkown assailant and our favorite hymn would have to be "Deny Peace (Pleasure in Pain)", a melodic piece which mutates into a crushing work of nightmarish shrieks.
On side 2, the five tracks by Sxuperion all take on the numbered titles "Vibration". This is an apt title as after a ceremonial intro, we are put into submission by rolling percussion and possessed vocals which shake the inner core. "Vibration II" continues to pulverize with speed metal mixed with dark ambient atmospherics. The remainder of your journey drowns you deeper into the abyss while "Vibrations V" peacefully closes out a stellar release with an aggressive beating that ends with a faint heartbeat.
This split is available now on cassette and digital formats and each tape comes with a separate patch from each band. Pick this up now for this weekend's coming festivities.
-JRS