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THEOTOXIN
Consilivm

Massacre (2018)
Rating: 8/10

Blackened death metal is the style served up on Theotoxin’s sophomore opus, which comes just a year after 2017 debut Atramentvm. The band hails from Vienna in Austria and this new nine-track release should appeal to anyone who likes slick, speedy, well-oiled and intelligent extreme metal.

Okay, so it’s a style that doesn’t tend to breed that many original outfits, but Theotoxin have mastered the art of providing fast, aggressive rhythm’s that combine well with nasty chops of melody as well as dishing out guttural deathly harmonies.

But what I really like about this precise offering is its catchiness. Opener ‘Deus Imposter’ is a prime example which literally sums up the whole sound of this quartet. The pitch black wicked side of haste and evil gives way to fine segments of groovier design, with thick chugging guitars cavorting with hammering percussion and jarring sequences as Theotoxin display juddering complexities within a more tried and tested framework of blazing black metal hostility.

Vocally, Havres Heremita flits between deathlier sloppy grunts and nefarious rasps, with the twin guitar attack of Martin Frick and Fabian Rauter providing an immense wall of oozing slime, greasing up the sound to a loose but somehow precise and concise feel. This enables glimmers of glistening melody, particularly on the multi-layered attack ‘Yersinia Pestis’ with its rampant drum assault courtesy of Florian Musil.

The themed black metal nuances run deep and true to the point that Theotoxin heave with a nocturnal arrogance, puffing out their chest to produce such jarring contagion as ‘Hexenflug und Teufelspakt’ which features some of the heaviest riffage I’ve heard for a long time. This deep, grinding tune follows far doomier passages, as cold barbaric chimes are puked out via Joachim Tischler’s caustic bass lines. This is immense, pounding and scathing black / death metal which drags you in to its dungeon.

‘Chant Of Hybris’ is a lure; a seething glinting blade of black sorcery as it traipses with ominous intent to a series of whispers, cackles and eventual scornful, mocking scowls, all the while the drums cascade and evoke images of oil slick ravines and slithering evil encased within that shell of simmering guitar chords.

Elsewhere, ‘Somnus Profanus’ offers up a set of twisted riffage that classic Morbid Angel would be proud of, while ‘Adoration Of The Blight’ continues the deep, lurking feel of dread only this time hastier passages come thick and fast and fully-barbed. Sandwiched within it all sits the monolithic ‘Stillstand’, a hurtling, spitting, venomous tirade of evil black / death metal with hints of fellow countrymen Abigor as well as Carpathian Forest while finding a medium between primitive vileness and glossier climes.

And that’s the joy of Theotoxin’s latest outing, the ability of the band to cement their place as a tour de force within the genre while not veering to trend. Instead, the combo just gets on with it, pulling no punches and offering up a delicious slick slice of wretchedness.

Neil Arnold

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