Romanian old school Extreme Metal maniacs PERSEKUTOR are to follow their 3 EP’s with a debut full length. Set for release via Svart Records on September 4th.
Pounding drums and crushing guitars build in the monolith of Extreme Metal with a filthy heaviness, ready to explode. Snarling vocals join the grooving instrumentals, spewing with a mystical darkness and classic 80s Metal vibrancy, returning to the roots of Extreme Metal itself. Gritty and evil, the ferocious carnage continues with the eeriness of Celtic Frost while presented in a tighter and more polished way, still retaining the vicious nature of the music they preserve. Firing forth more malevolent Metal, the riffs build to tremolo picked, doomy crawls with thundering drums and the howled vocals building tension.
Deathly, creepy and monstrously heavy, Persekutor offer a visceral bout of tracks that build even more old school mayhem on the foundations they set out with to delve into a maddeningly upbeat, catchy and brutal record. The convulsive grooves of this thing will have any Metalhead banging their head while the tongue-in-cheek lyrics have that same vibe as Venom back in their heyday. Although showing humour, do not let this fool you into thinking this is a parody, this is some killer Heavy Metal which deserves to be taken seriously while showing a self-aware cheesiness that is a nuance perhaps lost in recent years.
This is incredibly primal, something that will invoke adoration from fans of old school bands like Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Venom and the like. The simplicity of the music makes it even easier to be won over by the charm of these maniacs playing some anthemically charged Black/Death/Thrash/Speed from before subgenres were so defined. Often this is the breeding ground for some truly fantastic material, with bands often going down the more bestial route. Persekutor, on the other hand, have found their own niche of Tom G Warrior worship (alongside Apokalyptic Raids and some others). It is not often I would describe Extreme Metal as “fun” but this is one of the few exceptions where not only is this true, but also it isn’t annoying or bothersome.
A really memorable and enjoyable debut album. Perhaps some might find the humour off-putting but overall I think anyone who enjoys the earlier waves of Extreme Metal and the way it came to fruition will appreciate this sleazy inferno of nostalgic riffing, blasting, howling madness. -7.5/10
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