Abruptum - Casus Luciferi (2004)

A while ago I was on some mad quest for black metal mixed with harsh noise. I was given a whole bunch of recommendations, one of which included Abruptum, who are apparently the most evil band in the world ever. Like, ever ever. I'm serious (well, they are, or were, at least). They even had a member called Evil, and if that doesn't prove anything then I don't know what will. Earlier material was even released by Deathlike Silence before Euronymous got carved to bits by Varg Vikernes. Those records sounded like Anal Cunt or 7MON having a stab at black metal, and to me seem to lay some sort of blueprint for projects such as Stalaggh to follow on with.

This however is a much more ambient affair. The first track is an irritatingly-lengthy piece of martial drums repeating over and over. The rest of the record is thankfully much better. I guess there is a black metal vibe, but for the most part the whole thing is just lo-fi soundscapes of sinister noise, which is absolutely perfect for 4am RPG sessions, I'll say that much. I ended up chaining the Abruptum discography after hearing this, and I much prefer their ambient "noise" stuff to the earlier "noisecore" style to black metal, which even for someone who absolutely loves noisecore, just sounds a bit crap, if I'm honest.

I promise you after 15 minutes you'll be hearing these drums in your sleep. - 28/07/2016