Aguynguerran
Perverting The Nazarene Cult
6.7
Synopsis:
Solid Belgian black metal with members of Enthroned, Iconoclasm, Panchrysia and Huldrefolk...
Review:
With an experienced black metal line-up you’d expect no more than seething, slicing precision with the debut from Agyuni-, Agynebar-, Agyunerab- this band, and they do not disappoint with an album full of Christ hating, grim but polished black metal furor.
With all the trappings of a typical Scandinavian black metal album (Dark Funeral, Setherial, Naglfar, etc), as well as the obvious Enthroned backbone, Perverting the Nazerene Cult has frosty blast beats, shrill rasps, a very subtle sense of melody lurking beneath the blasting, and as a slightly unique cherry a top the very grim cake, a very subtle Middle Eastern/Sumerian visage that works well in conjunction with the more traditional “We hate God!” black metal themes.
That all being said, for a 2008 black metal album from a band that’s been around since 1999, Perverting the Nazerene Cult isn’t going to change the genre, but it’s certainly an upper tier release that will appease fans of the bands mentioned above. After the choral/chanting intro of “Anathema Maranatha”, Aguynguerran dive into the feral snarl of the title track, then the Mayhem-ish hack and slash and rawness of “Deathstab”. Then there’s some very tight blasting courtesy of “Christreign Annihilation” (from the band’s 2003 demo of the same name), before the mid album Middle Eastern break of “Nazerenus Peritens” gives you a bit of a breather. The duo of “Epitome of Your God” and “Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans” are arguably the album’s strongest tracks with a solid sense of melody and malevolence. However, as with both black metal albums, the rest of the material is a bit rehashed and familiar with only closing instrumental “Into Ataraxis” and cover of Nifelheim’s “The Final Slaughter” breaking the tremolo blast ‘n’ rasp mantra. “Manifest” takes the militaristic, marching repetition approach and the almost seven minute “Assyria” tries really hard to be epic.
On the downside, the vocals of Nguaroth are a little too shrill and the overall production is a bit dry and processed resulting in a mechanical sound that does not quite fit the band’s overarching themes and influences, despite the presence of some above average riffs and very tight percussion.
