PREHISTORIC WAR CULT – Barbaric Metal

vote
8.0

• Bands:
  PREHISTORIC WAR CULT
• Duration: 00:29:01
• Available from: 06/21/2024
• Label:

• Fucking Kill Records

With the title of their first full-length, Prehistoric War Cult have found the ideal definition for their proposal. Of course, even the increasingly abused war metal tag could work well, but the Teutonic trio sometimes manages to convey a slightly different feeling, thanks to a groove that is at times closer to a certain old school death metal, plus a sort of supple freedom of improvisation which, on always vigorous rhythms, combines immediately recognizable riffs with dry and ultra-percussive disharmonious fragments. Sounds surrounded by the most ignorant distortion, but focused with clear discipline, in a formula in which the discreet variability of the timbres is immediately noticeable, as well as the ability to offer even a pinch of atmosphere, without however ever letting go.
After a series of very convincing EPs (especially “Under the Sign of the Red Moon”), this first album by the boys from Osnabrück is the definitive confirmation of their ability to conceive this bestial and barbaric metal, with ten tracks for just under half an hour of music that see them punctually bring with them a valid basic idea and an undoubted knowledge of the vast world of extreme metal, appearing as a project expertly balanced in setting up highly effective plots, perfectly halfway between all-out violence, descriptive moods and martiality and Teutonic rigor (listen to the midtempos!).
The work focuses meticulously on consistency and sound density, starting from a rough but well-balanced production, to arrive at a repertoire in which each element, rather than being gratuitously distorted and blurred, enjoys the right power and a system precise and vigorous rhythm, on which many riffs worthy of the name stand out, with an indomitable and centralizing character.
In short, there is a sort of grim musicality at the basis of “Barbaric Metal”: the three rightly play at presenting themselves as perfect possessed, but their songwriting is concrete and scrupulous, with songs that know how to stand up and work even individually, proving to be representative passages of that excruciating abyss of emotions that the group colors with interpretations full of undisputed communicative spontaneity. A quadrature which is rather rare in this vein and which ends up giving a certain distinctive touch to this tour de force, which confirms the caliber and state of grace of Prehistoric War Cult, a reality to be considered as much as the various Antichrist Siege Machines, Primitive Warfare and Heresiarch in this excited 2024.