AS HOPE DIES - Legions Bow To A Faceless God

AS HOPE DIES
Legions Bow To A Faceless God
Undecided Records - 2003
8/10




Ravaging new school black metal with chaotic fretwork and savage blasts of percussion are the order of the day as Southern California’s As Hope Dies launch a diabolical nuclear storm of fury and castigation. And while this sadly now defunct ensemble delivers torrid sonic rampages, there remains a true sense of mellifluous tonality.

Axe grinders Mike Madriga and Justin Smith blaze across the boards on dark anthems such as "In The Presence Of That Evening" with Maiden like precision uncommon in the works of many of their contemporary peers. The coarse shrieks imparted by David Richardson on "Led Astray" are filled with blackened anguish and rancor.

On the title track, the band marches forth, armed with discordant venom and striking with brutal definitude. "A Life Dead To Love" is ravenous from start to finish, featuring superlative double kick blasts, while "Deceived" cuts as sharply as a razor, frantic and supreme. It is a great pity that this group disbanded shortly subsequent to the release of this epic pogrom.

Coldness surrounds their art like the frosts of Norwegian fields and their following record certainly would have placed them in serious contention for the throne of the Black Metal genre. However, turmoil makes for supreme composition and the frustrations surrounding the group must have surely fueled the fire inherent in this nefarious masterwork.

Find this while you still can, for it is truly a pernicious showpiece of the black arts.


ERIN FOX © 2003 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED