[Album Review] Liturgy-Renihilation

• Album: Renihilation
• Artist: Liturgy
• Genre: Black Metal, Experimental Metal, Math Rock, Powerviolence
• Year: 2009
• Type: Full-Length

Review:

The day, I was watching some old Anthony Fantano reviews from 2010 and he was reviewing this band’s album (not the one I am reviewing), and he said it’s worth listening. So I amped with this record and my goodness that was my best 38 minutes of my life.

I never heard such uniqueness in black metal music since Bathory. Musically, it sounds like Bathory, Darkthrone came along together and produced such unique masterpice with a tinge of Brain Eno levels of experimental music and also Nails level of chaotic hardcore punk and powerviolence music. I was intruged with such well produced, well nourished and well executed high quality black metal music with experimental, math rock and powerviolence flavors, all mixed together to give a perfect blend of energetic and highly listenable heaven.

But, there is one flaw in the album, which i found more confusing to come across. Despite, high quality music and production, the vocals were poor and weak, literally under produced and inaudible as if it was recorded on a toaster. Such vocals are easily available in some of the other black metal bands demo albums when they started to play raw black metal music, similar to the likes of Venom, Bathory, 1349, etc.

As the band’s lyrical theme is mostly based on philosophy and transcendence, they’re quite well written and seemed more poetic and can be described as the best one. However, if we amplify the vocals, we can easily decode every syllable what is being said.

Instrumentals on this album are banger. Seriously, I want to meet this drummer as soon as possible. The drumming techniques are exactly Animals from Muppets level of destructive and highly energetic. May put other metal drummers like Mike Portnoy, Danny Carrey, Mario Duplantier to shame. I sometimes feel this drummer either takes a lot of coco or is Jared Dines himself.

There exists 4 interludes in this album, all are titled as Untitled in a sequential order. And to be honest, they are placed perfectly and i appreciate that factor. Overall, this album is an absolute pleasure in terms of listening as it is a not perfect, but a well crafted albums, but with toaster quality vocals. If improved, then it would be more great.

Best songs:

• Intro (Untitled 1)
• Pagan Dawn
• Ecstatic Rite
• Arctica
• Interlude 3 (Untitled 4)
• Beyond The Magical Forest
• Behind The Void

Okayish songs:

• Interlude 1 (Untitled 2)
• Mysterium
• Interlude 2 (Untitled 3)
• Renihilation

My Rating: 7.6/10

(c) 2009 Thrill Jockey Records.