Blaspherian, Infernal Warriors of Death

The cover to Blaspherian’s first full-length effort, Infernal Warriors of Death, may resemble Immolation’s Dawn of Possession, but the old school death metal held within the eight tracks on this disc are more akin to those of Cianide’s The Dying Truth mixed with a solid helping of Incantation. Thick, dense walls of down-tuned destruction dominate this album in a way that I haven’t quite been enamored with in some time. There’s something about the churning riffs and suffocating atmosphere that’s undeniably addictive.

“The Disgrace of God” introduces us to this Texas four-piece with sludgy riffs that ooze into one another as if they were pulled from Floridian swamps back in the early 1990s. Vocally, the guttural growls are nearly overwhelmed by the denseness of the production as this mid-paced, chugging monstrosity of a song pulverizes spine and skull. The tempo is quickened with the pounding “Desecration Eternal” — a fairly blasting trip through tormented, hellish growls and deep, textured riffs. The buzz coming out of my speakers is immense, like giant killer bees wielding rusty, turbo-charged chainsaws.

Slower moving, monoliths like “Sworn to Death and Evil,” the title track (which has a killer, memorable bit of riffing), and “In The Shadow of His Blasphemous Glory” dominate the middle portion of the album, but are punctuated by the rabid drumming of “Lies of the Cross.” The last two tracks have a bit more of a groove flowing through their murky depths and round out the album nicely.

If I had to find one thing to complain about, the lack of a lead or two throughout the album makes for a tedious listen at times. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do love the absolutely suffocating and atonal presentation of Infernal Warriors of Death, but I think a break amongst the dingy smog here or there would help the album breathe and capture attentions a bit more.

All in all, however, this initial effort from Blaspherian is killer and part of the reason I haven’t been able to get to more reviews the past couple of weeks — it’s been dominating my stereo with its swampy, vile brand of OSDM.