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PROVOCATOR
Antikristus

Moribund (2014)
Rating: 6.5/10

With its snippet of a sample from horror film The Exorcist (1973), the debut lump of rancid flesh from Slovenian black metal band Provocator is upon us. Born from the cancerous depths of Haliaetum, this atrocious noise is the brainchild of Hellscream, who is responsible for every bludgeoning riff, every hate-filled drum fill and all those grim yaps, rasps and pukes of evil.

After 2013’s Darkness Is Rising EP, Mr Hellscream obviously thought that his nasty words and obliterating sounds hadn’t made as big an impact as he would have liked, and so he comes back yelling, screaming, spitting and fighting with another dose of raw, primitive old school metal carved straight from the underground.

We get eight tracks – well, seven actually, as the intro ‘Let Jesus Fuck You’ is literally a few seconds – but then we’re into the rough ride that is the hellish ‘Unholy Rape Of The Holy Whore’, a despicable, choking mass constructed of miserable, remote muffled vocals and a genuine seething hatred that meanders its way through the apocalyptic musicianship. It’s as brutal and lo-fi as this sort of rusty black metal gets, and is more than happy to smother itself in the incoherently satanic influences of Beherit.

On that opening track all one will hear is Hellscream’s suicidal wails of woe amidst a tirade of obscenity which slithers between the rapid fire of drum and guitar. And that’s pretty much how Provocator works; an expression from a tortured man who thankfully has channelled his misanthropic tendencies into music rather than a killing spree. ‘7 Storms Of Eternal Damnation’ continues the run of hideous form and even nudges at melody with that stark chord, which worms its way behind a cackle of demonic utterances before we’re subjected to another barrage of musical abuse.

Antikristus was never going to be a slow record or a tame one, but the pure anguish and demented abandonment that Hellscream has converted to his instruments is a force to behold. ‘Conqueror Of Blasphemous Revenge’ is another sordid act revelling in dissonance and born from some unbidden realm that drowns within the most severe of fires. Five minutes of primitive pummelling and you’ll be checking the stereo dial in the hope that the album is nearly finished because this is a real punisher for the ears, climaxing with the raw din of the title track which again boasts another grizzly set of vocal moans accompanied by a slower guitar grind. It’s most certainly the slowest track on the record, but one still as guttural and wretched as the rest.

Hellscream has obviously achieved his aim of transferring a furnace to record; by the time this one filters to silence you’ll be burnt to a crisp, and I’m not sure if that’s such a good thing.

Neil Arnold

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