Search - Anaal Nathrakh :: Eschaton (Dig)

It is more fun to be evil

S. Chamberlain | Rowlett, TX United States | 02/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The experience of listening to Anaal Nathrakh's third album, Eschaton, is very comparable to that of a person taking their first shot of a Jack Daniels. It isn't crisp and it goes down hard, but in the end it leaves foaming at the mouth and begging for more. Anaal Nathrakh have continued to further their sound in new styles and directions. If I had to sum up Eschaton into one sentence, I would say this is a further progression from Codex Necro into a landscape of pure insanity.



The core elements of the band are still very apparent from the very beginning. The album is very rough around the edges in production area, which is a signature to most black metal bands. The melodies which were introduced in Codex Necro are still very apparent on Eschaton. This isn't an All That Remains album though; the melodies are varied and in no way take away from their brutal sound. The first song to showcase this is the aptly titled, "Between S*** and P*** We Are Born", which I think those two places were my first reaction to the song. The melody just jumps out from nowhere unlike some of the more mainstream metal. The overall sound of the album mixes in the previously mentioned black metal with some hints of Meshuggah (when I say hints I don't mean reliance like Decapitated) and grind like sounds interwoven with it all. All this makes it harder for the average metal listener to truly classify what genre the band belongs in. There are a number of elements that make this album worth listening to.



One of the greatest elements of Eschaton is the length of the album. Paced at a swift 35 minutes, one could argue that this leaves the listener wanting more. However, it has always been of my opinion that I'd much rather be left craving for more of an album than dazed from listening to a 77 minute album that doesn't know when to end the show. The lyrical content of the album is very interesting, if one actually reads the linear booklet anymore. "Timewave Zero" references to the Mayan Eschaton which believes that God will recreate the world for the 7th and final time. "Destroying Angel" is another name for a type of fungi that kills the healthiest of humans upon one bite. If this isn't metal at its most fun and brutal, then I'm a metal fan for the wrong reasons. Both songs are interesting examples in finding ways to deal with the same metal subjects through a different light. Surely, Slayer could take a page from this department.



Quite honestly, I haven't had this much fun listening to an album since Pig Destroyer's Terrifyer, and Anaal Nathrakh has jumped up a few notches in my department. For people that decide not to listen Anaal Nathrakh just because of their name is on par with not dating a girl because her parents were dumb enough to name her after a fruit. Bottom line, the product is worth more than the name.

"

12th on my best of 2006 list

Miss N. Thrope | Leftcoastfogland | 03/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Holy headbang, Batman! This cd is the aural equivalent of running with scissors. Any good parent of a small child would snatch this cd right out of the rug-rat's hands while uttering the cliché phrase "you'll put your ears out, kid!"



Anaal is a dirty black metal, thrash / sorta grindcore outfit from the UK made up of two guys named Irrumator and V.I.T.R.I.O.L, and has in the past utilized a programmed percussion section to manufacture the brutal, crushing wall of noise that are their trademark. For this album, they supposedly have recruited a live drummer. Whether or not this is the case, or even whether this guy has biomechanical arms, the result is pure smashing, relentless, blast beat grind.



I have to admit that grindcore or thrash have never been my kind of thing. This band, however, seems to be able to blend in just enough black metal "The Necrogeddon" and melodic death flavor "Waiting for the Barbarians" / "When the Lion devours both Dragon and Child" to make me not only like this, but get it on my list.



The album kicks off with plenty of black metal riffing courtesy of Irrumator and V.I.T.R.I.O.L screaming like his ass is on fire. The "machine" is doing its thing. Whether the "machine" is an actual machine or Danny Hererra (Napalm Death), I cannot be sure. All I know is that it is going at least 300 plus beats per minute. There are many songs like this. But wait! Something new! There are a few songs on this album that aren't a relentless barrage for a second or two, (The Yellow King), and they are good! There are (gasp) some clean vocals in there too (Timewave Zero / When the Lion...). This is interesting, very different for this band. -Ok, back to the scull pummeling with the next track. I was just starting to miss it. I'm so screwed trying to review this band. I guess I'll just have to wait, hear them live, and see if their drummer explodes."