Review Summary: Satan.
Of all the newer bands that try to recreate the downright evil and perverse nature of New York’s early death metal scene, Blaspherian are perhaps the best of all. In their attempts to excel among the OSDM revivalist movement, many bands push the genre’s limitations to the extreme, while others filter old concepts through a modern lens to create something that is both retrospective as well as unique, but Blaspherian do neither. It’s clear that originality is of absolutely no concern to the band, which would usually call for an onslaught of negative criticism, but the Texan quintet creates material that is of such a high quality that it’s basically impossible to deride them for a lack of novelty. The hilariously-titled
Upon The Throne of Eternal Blasphemous Death is yet another exemplary effort from a band that can seemingly do no wrong.
Despite being light on material – harbouring just two songs –
Upon The Throne feels absolutely monolithic, packing more energy into eleven minutes than most contemporary death metal bands can muster in a full-length album. The sheer sonic devastation that Joe and Wes wreak with simple tremolo lines and power chord structures is beyond comprehension, while Matt’s drumming provides an integral pivot that the rest of the band revolves around. The band members are by no means virtuosos, however, their true expertise lies in their remarkably fluid song-writing, creating a body of work that well and truly exceeds the sum of its parts. Blaspherian effortlessly alternate between upper mid-tempo riff-barrages a la Morpheus Descends, and cascading doom sections that resonate with the force of a tectonic aftershock. “Phoenix of Uncreation” best showcases the band’s proficiency, containing a myriad of seamless transitions that proceed to hypnotise the listener as the song runs its course. This superbly written collection of ominous riffs and occult imagery is bound together by a gritty, sonorous production job that could fool you into believing
Upon The Throne is actually a relic from 1991, having just been salvaged from the fathomless depths.
Notwithstanding their stylistic differences, Blaspherian possess the same demented spirit that propelled the likes of Immolation and Incantation to their legendary statuses, respectively. Unoriginal or not, these Texan blasphemers know their craft, and have a deceptively meticulous approach to song-writing that is completely absent from a lot of bands of this ilk. By virtue its chronological significance, or lack thereof,
Upon The Throne will never be held in awe like its ancestors, but it nevertheless towers over the legions of pretenders that now litter the scene.
