POSSESSION
Exorkizein
Iron Bonehead / Invictus (2017)
Rating: 8.5/10
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Cult Belgian metallers Possession have taken a long time to deliver their debut album, having previously teased us over five years with a couple of impressive EPs. But now we can finally light the candle and descend into the darkness of their stuffy, blackened realm.
Exorkizein is the work of four talented individuals, namely vocalist V. Viriakh, drummer Pz. Kpfw, guitarist I. Dveikus and newest recruit, bassist S. Iblis. The music on offer can best be described as an atmospheric black and death metal marrying, often catchy, always grim and a mix of tempos.
The only negative is that the record only runs for 36 minutes, boasting seven songs. But it’s an offering at the altar we have to be thankful for, as the brotherhood conjure up dismal spells of chaos constructed around thick, swirling silt-laden guitar licks, a dense, remote bass rumble and damp, speedy drum fills.
This creepy cacophony is orchestrated by Viriakh’s standard, but still commanding throaty pukes. Possession are not a ground-breaking band by any means, but they do have a mesmerising quality which allows their black, oozing style of extreme metal to leak into the ears like some toxic slop that has been discarded from some deep, satanic portal. The result is an extremely rewarding, engrossing and, dare I say it, accessible putrid Gothic dose of extreme metal featuring cavernous chugs, bellowing vocal sneers and hellish chimes.
There is a sense of the grandiose throughout, but without ever becoming too big or self-indulgent for its boots. I’m reminded of Finland’s Lantern. Not in sound necessarily, but simply due to the obscure, dank nature of it all – a festering, suffocating pit of tension that really does clog the lungs and causes panic. More so by way of songs such as ‘Infestation – Manifestation – Possession’ which are truly mind-blowing exercises of well-crafted, morbid claustrophobic suspense filtered through those dry, yet loose drum tumbles and that squalid guitar filth.
Possession carve out mid-tempo filth and then faster, but always tight terror-driven barks of fury, all of which bounce around some unseen grim, dungeon wall whereby Viriakh’s rancid screams of anguish do battle with his more standard black metal scrapes.
Opener ‘Sacerdotium’ is a macabre doom-laden trudge of militant drums and foul, yawning guitar grinds before they eventual bleed into thrashier realms, while ‘Beast Of Prey’ is an utterly impure snarl of derision again based around atmospheric lashings, punctuated by horrendous wailing leads and hyper-speed Bathory-pumped drums.
However, it’s the final trio of songs which showcase the real epic talents of Possession. All rattling in at between five and eight minutes, we’re greeted by the plods of ‘In Vain’ with its scuzzy classic Napalm Death-styled intro before becoming a wondrously nightmarish sludgy plod. It’s arguably Possession at their darkest; a real seeping leviathan of a track based around Viriakh’s menacing smirks and a slow, leaking putrid pile of drum, bass and guitar congealment.
‘Take The Oath’ is far nastier and faster though; a rust-bucket of black / death extremity boasting wild leads which attempt to worm their way frantically out of the fetid mist created by the rhythm section. It’s incredibly catchy. A thick pervading air of bilge before the finale of ‘Preacher’s Death’, which begins with a catchy, rolling trudge hinting at a more nauseous Swedish death metal style coated in doomy barks and rancid hammering. Indeed, imagine if you will a cold, musty stairwell into the very depths of Hell, then I’m sure this traipsing, menacing track would provide the ideal soundtrack into that downward spiral – a choking, thickening repetitive roll which finally gives way to a loose thrashing lump of hellish speed. Viriakh remaining that mocking presence, merely commentating on what is to be your eventual demise at the hands of a far greater, darker force. Thanks guys!
Neil Arnold
