Teitanblood
Death


4.0
excellent

Review

by JF Williams USER (18 Reviews)
May 17th, 2014 | 79 replies


Release Date: 2014 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Ignoble anti-music

It’s hard to know exactly what to say about a record when the band itself provides a more succinct – and honest – characterization of it in their own promo language than I ever could have:

“The second Teitanblood album corrects the misconception about death metal being music. Mortui vivos docent.”

Well, there you have it. Clearly, intellectualization is completely redundant when writing about a band like the Spanish death/black duo Teitanblood. You either get it, or you don’t. You’re either a glutton for black, death, and black/death punishment, or you’re not. If you are, I promise you that this album will make you feel. It’s one hour and eight minutes of crude, obliterative sonic savagery that might give you a nosebleed if you play it too loudly. Even more sane individuals who are repelled by this kind of monochrome black/death primitivism must stand in awe of Teitanblood’s grim vision.

If it wasn’t clear enough already, I’m all up on this bandwagon. However, it must be noted that Teitanblood are sternly serious in their takedown of the death metal genre, and they waste no time making sure the weak (or psychologically healthy, if you prefer) wash out within seconds of the opening track. “Anteinferno” immediately careens into a caustic blitzkrieg of ride-heavy blasting, impossibly detuned guitar noise and strangled growling, and the effect is thrillingly nightmarish. Teitanblood take an exhaustingly maximalist approach to the subgenre’s reductive compositional philosophy, and it doesn’t let up once.

Even the quieter moments are decidedly disquieting. Disturbing samples that evoke (or very well might actually be) the nightmarish works of the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki are injected throughout the record, elevating the atmosphere into even more obscure territories than that of their already obtuse black/death peers. The disorientating choir that opens “Sleeping Throats of the Antichrist” doesn’t just set a creepy mood – it summons forth the ensuing riff carnage, sounding like a field recording of the summoning of an ancient Lovecraftian hellbeast. The 16-minute long marathon of a closing track “Silence of the Great Martyrs” even leaves its remaining 9-minutes to ghoulish pseudo-Gregorian chanting that’s effective enough to stand on its own as an eerie ambient piece.

"Death" may ostensibly trudge through its lengthy running time with all the grace of a drunken Revenge, but Teitanblood have a secret weapon that places them above many of their bestial cousins: riffs. Remember those? Given Teitanblood's dedication to making total non-music, moments of killer riffage suggest that, thankfully, they may be giving themselves a little too much kvlt credit. The aforementioned “Sleeping Throats of the Antichrist”, despite dealing chiefly in noisy barbarism, takes healthy breaks from the record’s mission statement during the pulsing groove at its beginning and especially the sloggy, addictive riff at around 9:16. “Cadaver Synod” similarly sprinkles instances of relative intelligibility. Cacophony does ultimately reign supreme on "Death", but Teitanblood wisely elect to provide some semblance of organization in their song-writing, focusing the madness into something purposeful, and – dare I say it – musical.

Of course, the key word here is “relative”. Teitanblood still provide no wiggle room whatsoever for those who aren’t used to – or simply can’t stand – this style, making "Death" unlikely to win over any naysayers. But this is probably a moot point anyway. Teitanblood is more than successful in their quest to make quality primitive extreme metal that has no reason not to excite those who prefer this kind of ignoble anti-music.

Originally published on www.angrymetalguy.com



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user ratings (122)
3.8
excellent

Comments:Add a Comment 
zaruyache
May 17th 2014


27850 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

anti-music m/

MoosechriS
May 17th 2014


6353 Comments


this sounds like something i'd fucking love

zaruyache
May 17th 2014


27850 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

it's dirty death metal with lots of blasts, so if you're into more raw lo-fi dm then this should

probably appeal to you.



And I think RYM has this rated one of the best metal albums of the year, currently. So that should be

incentive enough, I guess.

MoosechriS
May 18th 2014


6353 Comments


dude i like pretty much anything raw lo-fi and full of blasts, gonna have to get an order in soon i reckon then

zaruyache
May 18th 2014


27850 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OKOkx7OtNs

TheSpirit
Emeritus
May 18th 2014


30304 Comments


Yesss dude, this sounds great, Teitenblood fucking rules. Cool review too, pos


SpiritCrusher2
May 18th 2014


6453 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

finally a review for this, yes!



@Jac like what?





Amphoteric
May 18th 2014


2014 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

This got a little tiresome to listen to, but I still really enjoyed it for the most part. I agree with Jac though, I don't really like this band as much as some of the ones he listed either.

zaruyache
May 18th 2014


27850 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

everybody loves Antediluvian but I don't get them. They're lo-fi and raw, but not abrasive or gripping at all. I want death metal to grab me and throw me around, but I don't feel that Antediluvian do that. Or this band either, for that matter.

Voivod
Staff Reviewer
May 18th 2014


10995 Comments


I've read good things about this album.

It was mentioned as "check also" in a review for the new Dead Congregation album, in the May's issue of Metal Hammer Greece.

Another outfit name that was dropped on the table was Irkallian Oracle.

http://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/grave-ekstasis

YUJOS
May 18th 2014


1019 Comments


Both this and Irkallian Oracle slay!

adr
May 18th 2014


12097 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

woah this slays

JasonCarne
July 1st 2014


1184 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

This is pretty darn good.

RiffOClock
July 10th 2014


1051 Comments


this album means business

KILL
July 10th 2014


81580 Comments


n business is gd

RiffOClock
July 10th 2014


1051 Comments


halfway through and so far so good

KILL
July 10th 2014


81580 Comments


gd modern dm comes through once in a while

but whos buyin???????????

PunchforPunch
July 11th 2014


7085 Comments


is this....... Ibiza Metal??

Million Ghosts
August 11th 2014


130 Comments


This is ridiculously sick

SpiritCrusher2
August 11th 2014


6453 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Oh yes it is. shame that most of the users

here just ignore it, bunch of posers :D



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