Exalted - We Are the Grim Throng

The first thing I noticed about We Are the Grim Throng (Battle Kommand, 2007) was that it had the same font as There Will Be Blood. Its liner notes seemingly bear out its title. Halhatatlan is the "unpunished architect of vile deeds." Azog emits "tongues of snakes and beastial [sic] 4 string hellish thunder." Arend plays "flaming war axe and malevolent incantations." Hecubus contributes "pounding hooves of Baphomet." Ah, those wacky black metallers.

As the Sky Turns Black
Morbid Eternity

These liner notes contain no lyrics, which may not be unfortunate. The song titles are self-explanatory, ranging from good-for-metal ("And the Cinders Tell the Tale") to eye-rolling ("Caves of Lost Rejection") to uff-da ("Tyranny of the Bitch Queen"). Someone who writes a song called "Tyranny of the Bitch Queen," commits it to tape - and then misspells the title - has problems.

Perhaps such problems are artistically beneficial. I imagine the vocals were performed with no small amount of drool. This Chicago band has just enough craziness to push it past hordes of similar "punky old school blastbeats with thrash and croaky vocals" colleagues. "Blood Magick" has a stirringly cheesy sample about worshiping Satan. "As the Sky Turns Black" drops into a shuffle with cowbell, which automatically renders it awesome. "Conquered Shores" has honest-to-goodness heavy metal - and more cowbell.

The bass is a large and fast-tunneling subterranean worm; the drummer has a propensity for occasionally and suddenly remembering he has a ride cymbal. But despite the gutter-hugging vibe and wet cardboard drums, the songwriting is skilled. "Morbid Eternity" moves melodies in parallel and contrary motion, while "And the Cinders Tell the Tale" turns 16 bars of feedback into a bridge, holding and holding the "note" until the dam bursts and the song floods back in. Dirty and dynamic, just the way I like it.

We Are the Grim Throng is available from Hells Headbangers, Relapse, The End...but not from Battle Kommand. The label and distro have closed shop - does anyone know what happened?