The year of 2018 gave us a lot of good and memorable Black Metal albums. They were released by both cult bands and young ones that absorbed the smell and blood of the second and third waves of Black Metal and continue to sow the seeds of evil and chaos. Now it is the turn of 2019. And from the very beginning of 2019 we were not forced to wait for release of the album by the international band Barshasketh which took its roots from distant New Zealand. The previous 3rd album “Ophidian Henosis” showed everyone that the band has great creative potential. Barshasketh’s founder Krigeist gathered musicians who are able to quickly improve their black skills and grow further in all aspects. Barshasketh did not stop on reached result and in 2018 they arrived in Stockholm to record their 4th album in the notorious and cult Necromorbus Studio under the guidance of the sound engineer Tore Stjerna. The fact of recording an album in this studio already says that the sound will be high-quality and canonical. So it happened.
Musicians choosed the name of new album from the same name with the band and decided to reveal all its meaning from the beginning to the end. Barshasketh originates from Be’er Shachat, which means “pit of corruption”. This is one of the seven levels of Hell according to esoteric traditions in Judaism. The conceptual component of the album is built on rituals of the cyclic self-rebirth, which passes through the phases of destruction, purification and rebirth.
The album begins with the song Vacillation, which plunges into the cold atmosphere of darkness and horror. The impetuous drum parts, Krigeist’s furious rotten vocals and the intricacies of guitar parts capture from the first seconds and keep in suspense. A beautiful solo and mid-tempo part dilute the pressure, but not for long because the drums explode again and the hurricane of guitar tremolo blows the soul straight to Hell.
Resolve replaces the first song and continues to press with the fast blast-beats and crazy guitar transitions and falls in the middle in a slow poisonous riffing. Now it is time for Consciousness I, in which you can hear excellent bass lines. The transitions from a slow pace to blast-beats are also enough. It is made very virtuously and with taste. The serene beginning of Consciousness II is relaxing until drums and guitars are rushing in and doing their dirty work and falling from the middle to an atmospheric breakdown. Pause. And then starts the excellent riffs in the spirit of second and third waves of Black Metal.
The next song, Ruin I, just blows your head off. Everything is beautiful here, from the beginning to the end. The atmosphere is permeated with cold and all consuming gloom. And what a devilish ripping riff sounds from the middle to the end of the song! This is a real black magic. Mesmerizing. I have not heard such song for a long time (or never). Definitely this is the best song of the album. There it is the blood of Black Metal of the late 90’s, when the music came to the fore and became more thoughtful, organic, high-quality and diverse! The same sip which was missing for many years. This is an example of Black Metal which I love with all my heart and I am ready to listen to it at any time regardless of my mood.
Ruin II has been a logical continuation of the previous song with the same classic touches, devilish vocals and a powerful squall of drums. The hurricane starts dying down and there comes a viscous demonic pause. And it gradually increases in tempo with solo in the background. Everything methodically goes into blast-bit, which ends Ruin II.
The remaining two songs you can listen on your own and think it out. It is worth it to feel the whole atmosphere.
With gratitude for the pleasure, the album score is
10/10
P.S. Support the band and buy their CD or LP album here и here.