Anaal Nathrakh – Passion
Release: 2011May17 (US)
Label: Candlelight Records
Rating: 4.5/5
For all I know, the opening lines of this album are “You’re a fucking assgrabber”—between their heavily distorted nature and literally elusive lyrics (go on, I challenge you to find more than a handful from all eight of their albums, across all the neterwebs). That reminds me of one important point I meant to bring up when I actually spoke with Dave Hunt (a.k.a. V.I.T.R.I.O.L): the futility of censorship. If you hear these things, fine—but what else? Were the humble strums that started the album now forgotten in favor of ‘fuck’? Would you stick around to hear the best soaring wails this side of Ihsahn? No regulations matter in the face of tapping emotion, and naming this album Passion is abso-fucking-lutely correct; this is the most mainline to raw id since SYL‘s Alien.
The point of recorded music has always been to recreate an imagined experience anywhere. Lest we forget, originally, pressed discs were created to simulate the live performance of a musician in the comfort of your home …with glorious monaural sound. A century later, ethos has shifted and expanded to encompass bands like Anaal Nathrakh, but the end result is the same—to make you feel like they do. And thanks for saving the Frampton comments for later… or never.
Songs on this album can be mostly paired off—no, really. The first two are the longest and best explore their sonic breadth, with vocals that arrive about 40% of the way in; “Post-Traumatic Stress Euphoria” & “Locus of Damnation” are, by far and away, the shortest tracks here, yet complete through sheer density; both “Who Thinks of the Executioner” & “Ashes Screaming Silence” are 3:58 in length and feature sick breakdowns with strong industrial touches; finally, “Le Diabolique Est L’Ami Du Simple” & “Tod Huetet Uebel” have non-English titles and cautionary subjects (roughly: “The Devil is Friend to the Simple” and then either “Death Guards Evil” or “Beware Evil Death” …something like that). “Paragon Pariah” thus gets singled out (rather appropriate, yeah?) and is unique by its gorgeous, cleanly-sung chorus. But after such a compelling listen, “Portrait of the Artist” sems anticlimactic, with samples by Mories de Jong (De Magia Veteram, Gnaw Their Tongues). I prefer it at the start of Passion, to tell you the truth—try it out!
He isn’t the only guest, either. Alan Dubin of Gnaw (again with the gnawing!) lends his throat to “Ashes Screaming Silence” and Pavor‘s Rainer Landfermann gets downright maniacal on “Tod Huetet Uebel”—we’re talking “fetch a straitjacket” crazy. And that’s saying a lot, considering his hosts here. Though I was introduced only one album ago, after visiting their back catalogue through The Codex Necro, I certainly believe Passion is their finest effort to date. For those who walk that razor seeking the pure and unfettered few, Anaal Nathrakh dares you to follow, though the path be ever-daunting.
FCC: 1, 2, 3, 6
Try: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
01. Volenti Non Fit Iniuria
02. Drug-Fucking Abomination
03. Post Traumatic Stress Euphoria
04. Le Diabolique Est L’ami Du Simplement Mal
05. Locus of Damnation
06. Tod Huetet Uebel
07. Paragon Pariah
08. Who Thinks of the Executioner?
09. Ashes Screaming Silence
10. Portrait of the Artist
~MetalMattLongo
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