ALBUM REVIEW: Antichrist Siege Machine – Schism Perpetration

The debut full length album from Blackened Death Metal titans ANTICHRIST SIEGE MACHINE is here, following a couple of demos and an EP, suffice to say I think things are about to get pretty intense. The record is out now via Stygian Black Hand and Krucyator Productions.

The eerie sampling of the beginning brings in the unsettling vibes of the album while utilising a minimalist style to let the imagination go to work. Feedback soon draws us into things with doomy grooving riffs following suit. Immediately the punishing grind of the band is reminiscent of REVENGE, which is certainly not a complaint from me, as they thunder out bestial riffing, maniacal blasts and morbid vocals in an onslaught of hellfire that stomps and secretes such unholy noise with a magnificently chaotic feeling to it. While the production is certainly raw, it is actually rather clear so you do not miss out on any of the defiling devastation the band throws at you. There is a meaty savagery to the butchering guitar work perfectly suited to the absolutely insane skills of the drummer, backing up a ferocious barrage of intimidating vocal work. Throwing in the bombarding songwriting style of CONQUEROR with some slower brutish sections akin to ARCHGOAT, this is a War Metal fans ideal blend of putrid thuggishness and scolding aggression, certainly something that demands ones attention. A blasphemous affair from start to end, this thing has infinite momentum but within that there is a surprisingly (at least for War Metal) well varied blend of tempo and ideas that really accentuates how damn hard this thing hits. We are given some brief shredding mania that completes the sadistically unhinging sound of the genre while the rhythm sections are clearly the main show with their brilliantly stampeding blastbeats and riffing that seem to never falter in energy, much like the ripping gutturals of the vocalist. While it may not be as relentless as INFERNAL COIL or as out-there as CULT OF EXTINCTION, these guys have found their balance and their sound, it is a consistent one that is punishingly malicious. In just under half of an hour ASM dominate, obliterate and devastate you with old school Black-Death warfare of excellent quality. This is a fantastic debut full length and I expect mighty future releases. -9/10