Wiegedood :" There is Always Blood At the End of the Road"

Of the Church of Ra Belgium metal community this is the heaviest of those bands and also up until this point the most black metal of those bands, though this album sees the going off in a rapid grind core like manner. While there are some black metal elements intact the intensity has been elevated to a more extreme level and this album is angry as fuck. The opening track was impressive and had me eager to spend more time with this album. When I did, I found it falls into one of the many pitfalls extreme metal bands so often succumb to. The first song impresses tryout because it is so damn heavy but is not so keen when followed up by asking if they can write a song. By the third song we are stuck in the same blasting darkness, with no dynamics making this sound very uniform. 

"Until It is Not" races more along the tremolo guitar atmosphere of black metal though the pacing causes it to run together with the previous songs. It is however the best song since the opener at this juncture in the album. Melody does not begin to creep in until "Now Will Always Be".  It is more for an intro though at the point I will take anything. The vocals have a more croak throat singing drone to them. There is an interlude that for the purpose of this review I am going to pass over as it contributes nothing. Then there is the invocation of chaos that they have titled "Nuages" until the ends it just blasts off at the same blinding speed the other songs have. It ends by slowing down into a weird, syncopated part that sound like their brain was melting at the time. While it is a cool riff, the rule here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make.  

"Theft and Begging" is more redundant speed blasting with a few passages at more of a creepy throb to break things up. However, as the song progresses there emerges more sonic moods. At one point it sounds like he screams about a slutty dog, but with the exception of the throat singing part earlier on the vocals are just another abrasive texture. Violent is often used as an adjective in metal but I think this album makes a fair argument for it being used here. I will round this one down to an 8, as it does have few impressive song and unearthly rage pouring to it as far as song so that I will want to listen to well I think I have heard enough so they 8 is more because it is effective for people who want one dimensional sonic abuse, as it excels at that.