Asphagor

THE CLEANSING

BLACK SUNSET/MDD A BIG, BOLD BLACK METAL BLAST FROM ANGERBERG, AUSTRIA

Bombarded as we are by postand atmospheric black metal records with only a slender musical connection to anything metallic, something as straightforwardly bombastic and violent as The Cleansing increasingly stands out as a breath of infernal fresh air. At first, this belongs squarely in Dark Funeral and Twilightera Gorgoroth territory, where a decent production job is wielded as a weapon of destruction and occasional moments of respite exist primarily to spare your neck muscles for a few seconds. Luckily, Asphagor know how to write memorable songs too. As suggested by the insidious melodies and brooding grooves of The Solipsist, this is not quite the big, dumb black metal record that it first appears to be. Both (In The) Sea Of Empty Shells and Circle Of Abaddon showcase the ongoing broadening of the band’s vision and the closing title track is a melancholy monster.

FOR FANS OF: DARK FUNERAL, DIMMU BORGIR, IN MOURNING DOM LAWSON