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KAFIRUN
Death Worship (2014)

Death Worship is the debut three-track demo from Canadian band Kafirun, and if you like your black metal extremely black, then you could do far worse than checking out this deadly dose of pitch black metal.

Kafirun is a quartet comprised of members Luzifaust (vocals), Hanephi (guitar), Hypnocrotizer (bass) and Corpus Vile (drums), and their style of music is one so hellish that I’m in fact quite surprised as well as impressed by such a woeful noise.

Effective black metal – in my opinion, anyway – has always been about that fine balance of the grisly and the professional. After all, as Darkthrone’s Fenriz once stated, “A lot of people don’t think its black metal until its some lame-ass Transylvanian Hunger rip-off with some guy going ‘blearrrk, blearkkkkkk!’.” But, as with the case presented here, there are a few bands which can still create unholy cacophony. I take my corpse-paint off to these Canadians for finding a sound that is both disconcerting and ancient-sounding, both of these qualities adding to the already miserable moans of Luzifaust and those black, cobweb-ridden sprawling guitars.

The opening track ‘Beyond The Flesh Vessel’ is a fine example of an outfit comfortable with paying homage to bands such as early Darkthrone and Mayhem at their eeriest. The ghoulish moans and gothic strains work in tandem with that rancid percussion, which tumbles in some oily haze of lo-fi quality but dwelling deep within that tumult is a super little melody – the sort of hook which also rings true throughout the other two tracks, ‘Thousand Spears’ and ‘Killer Of All Man’. The best of these is the latter which boasts some cracking mid-paced guitar coupled with more abrasive passages coated in gloom.

It seems that the one element Kafirun really wants to focus on is the dark, foreboding atmosphere and this is present throughout, but this type of conjuration can only be crafted by talented musicians who have an eye for that stark, ominous instrumentation. I’m quite surprised by the professionalism and tightness of such a record, especially when one considers that the Vancouver-based band only formed earlier this year.

While some may not agree with the belief system of the combo, this is an extremely murky offering that will appease those within the black metal community who tend to spend all of their lives curled up in some wretched dungeon.

For those of you interested, the Death Worship demo can be downloaded here.

Neil Arnold

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