Review Summary: Satan 1 God 0
"Troo" black metal is alive and well in 2013 thanks in no small part to the desolate audio filth that is known as "The Pale Spectre over the Worm". The most grimy of demos is brought to you by Spain's newest legion of death and decay. The band is named 13th Moon and they will fill all your blasphemous needs, wants and desires for raw, unnerving, occultic black metal that pays as much tribute much to the repugnant body decomposing nature of humanity as it does to the insanity inducing supernatural excess of HP Lovecraft's non-fiction.
On paper 13th Moon seem legit. They have the ominous totally black metal band name, they have the foreboding song-titles that seem like they were created solely for summoning "Shub-Niggurath" to obliterate/consume the souls of the peasantry of the modern world and they have the ghastly artwork depicting a confrontation between the living and the undead which furthers the dual human/supernatural outlook on death. The name is black, the artwork is black, the titles are all black now you must be asking.....how is the music? Well my friends, the music is blacker than the blackest black times infinity.
In addition to performing a raw, condensed form of death metal influenced black metal 13th Moon also incorporate other techniques to further their grimness. Two of the tracks on the demo are purely dark ambient instrumentals. "Through the Tunnel of the Scorpio" and "De Vmbrarvm Regni Novem Portis" make use of minimalist synth and various soundbites to create a claustrophobic paranoia inducing atmosphere. Other more "black metal" tracks feature clanking industrial sounds and monotonous droning choir vocals that sound like a sexy black mass is being performed in the name of Cthulhu deep down below in the sewers where the Ninja Turtles once dwelt. The vocals alternate between more stoned "Deep One" worshiping male vocals and deceiving angelic female vocals that lead you to believe that the angels are coming down from the heavens to come to your aid. No, they are not coming to your aid, you know who is coming to your aid? "Yog-Sothoth". Yeah, that's right. Hold your "****** Man" tight because Yog-Sothoth is floating just above your place of residence as I type this.
Musically, 13th Moon play a bestial fusion of black and death metal that is compounded and increasingly darkened by raw production and the various songwriting tactics that 13th Moon employ to *** with your mind. Vocals use high pitch torturous screams in addition to the guttural death growls that muddies things up just a bit. The guitar tone is really dense and heavy, not to mention ominous sounding throughout it's 23 minute running time. Musically it's as old-school death metal as it is old-school black metal. The lines are blurred yet coexist in perfect Cthulic harmony to create one of the most brutal, uncompromising releases of 2013. The guitar heavy rhythmic nature of the demo is enhanced by the goat ***ing synths that bring to mind crucified angels being forced to sing by black magic spouting undead wizard curators. Percussion is equally as intense as the guitars and vocals, providing an added spark to the necro brutality that is being conjured.
In a year where an alarmingly disproportionate number of people think "Sunbather" is not only black metal but the best black metal album of the year it is absolutely refreshing to see Satan teaming up with The Great Old Ones to recruit new minions for the sole purpose of combating these hipster faggots and sanding their damned souls to enjoy a life time of excruciating darkness and pain in "Cthulhu's" lair, which conveniently enough is located in the Bermuda triangle. May the warriors of earth in 13th Moon, Tombeau, Cemetery Piss and Ogdru Jahad commence with the almighty plan laid out by Satan and the outer gods..........
