Arghoslent
Arsenal Of Glory
[Sempiternal]
How Sempiternal, a relatively obscure institution, managed to get this juggernaut under its wing is beyond me, but I couldn’t care less about dwelling on such a question, considering this is one of the most impressive displays of occult death metal since, well, the last Arghoslent record, of course.
Not too much has changed since their last foray, this is still some of the most sincere, unique death metal to be exhumed from the American underground. Underground mavens who have had previous run-ins with Arghoslent know what to expect, a formidable melange of death/thrash riffage, death metal tenacity, gruff, legible growls and a healthy dose of songwriting formulas recycled from the NWOBHM era, complemented by a militaristic lyrical obsession with genocide and ancient wars.
Featuring members of the mighty Grand Belial’s Key and the equally worthy Twisted Tower Dire, and this band’s formation seems rather logical considering this fact, as it shares several traits with both bands, but sounds completely different from either outfit. The traditional heavy metal elements present in both outfits forms the crux of this release, being as it is chock-full of NWOBHM melody, song structure and general spirit. However, this element doesn’t compromise Arghoslent’s tenacity, it still retains much of American Death Metal’s more vicious tendencies, as is evident in the opening riffwork on “Rape Of A Slave” and the aggressive nature of “Werguild”. Unabashedly melodic in some sections, this doesn’t however, swell into the faggotry of much SweDeath, radiating a truly sophisticated, original heavy metal aura instead of simply replicating olden formulas.
Ideologically Arghoslent seems to be quite the enigma, as their lyrics have always revealed a racialist/fascistic slant, and they’re quite openly supporters of massacre and genocide. The last record even showed the band standing in front of a swastika banner. However, I have heard that their ideological standpoints are far from these suspicions, something that can be rationalised by the fact that they’re signed to a Latin-American run record label, and that the vocalist makes regular trips to Argentina to play football (soccer to you Yank dweebs). Still, I find that rationalising the whole affair and reconciling the fact that their lyrics seem to be explicitly elitist is rather difficult. Ah well.
Regardless of the negative mystique surrounding this outfit, this is a bona fide exercise in highly original and enjoyable death metal from a band that refuses to succumb to the many rampant trends in the contrived death metal underground, and craft a product that attains a level of quality most extreme metal bands can only hope to reach. This, and their most brilliant debut will make the most indifferent old-school maven and the most discerning metal enthusiast celebrate in grand head-nodding style.
[9]
© 2000 equimanthorn
Not too much has changed since their last foray, this is still some of the most sincere, unique death metal to be exhumed from the American underground. Underground mavens who have had previous run-ins with Arghoslent know what to expect, a formidable melange of death/thrash riffage, death metal tenacity, gruff, legible growls and a healthy dose of songwriting formulas recycled from the NWOBHM era, complemented by a militaristic lyrical obsession with genocide and ancient wars.
Featuring members of the mighty Grand Belial’s Key and the equally worthy Twisted Tower Dire, and this band’s formation seems rather logical considering this fact, as it shares several traits with both bands, but sounds completely different from either outfit. The traditional heavy metal elements present in both outfits forms the crux of this release, being as it is chock-full of NWOBHM melody, song structure and general spirit. However, this element doesn’t compromise Arghoslent’s tenacity, it still retains much of American Death Metal’s more vicious tendencies, as is evident in the opening riffwork on “Rape Of A Slave” and the aggressive nature of “Werguild”. Unabashedly melodic in some sections, this doesn’t however, swell into the faggotry of much SweDeath, radiating a truly sophisticated, original heavy metal aura instead of simply replicating olden formulas.
Ideologically Arghoslent seems to be quite the enigma, as their lyrics have always revealed a racialist/fascistic slant, and they’re quite openly supporters of massacre and genocide. The last record even showed the band standing in front of a swastika banner. However, I have heard that their ideological standpoints are far from these suspicions, something that can be rationalised by the fact that they’re signed to a Latin-American run record label, and that the vocalist makes regular trips to Argentina to play football (soccer to you Yank dweebs). Still, I find that rationalising the whole affair and reconciling the fact that their lyrics seem to be explicitly elitist is rather difficult. Ah well.
Regardless of the negative mystique surrounding this outfit, this is a bona fide exercise in highly original and enjoyable death metal from a band that refuses to succumb to the many rampant trends in the contrived death metal underground, and craft a product that attains a level of quality most extreme metal bands can only hope to reach. This, and their most brilliant debut will make the most indifferent old-school maven and the most discerning metal enthusiast celebrate in grand head-nodding style.
[9]
© 2000 equimanthorn