Album Review: Brulvahnatu - Menstral Extraction Ceremony

A review of Brulvahnatu's Menstral Extraction Ceremony

Brulvahnatu is the most underrated band I’ve ever had the joy of uncovering. Around a year ago I ordered the first two albums from this artist and I have immensely enjoyed them. The atmosphere accomplished by the petrifying vocals, extensive album art, captivating lyrics, and dynamic song writing draws you in and transports you to a swamp glowing green, where you are the only person on earth. It takes me back to when I was just discovering 70s progressive rock; that was when experiencing an album audibly, visually, and cognitively gave me a glimpse into a carefully crafted other world. So of course, the new album by Brulvahnatu for 2011 was my most anticipated release of the year.

This album, Menstrual Extraction Ceremony, starts off with an assault of sound. And it carries on with little respite for the first three tracks, carving through the album bluntly and crudely, which certainly goes with what I’m guessing is a hysterectomy theme. When we get to the fourth track, “The Gland”, the album becomes more instantly memorable, partially because the track’s beginning has a saxophone. This somewhat unorthodox instrument choice is very effective though, it refocuses the music so that the brutality and beauty of the ensuing riffs are brought to clarity. This track is great, a brilliant example of what makes Brulvahnatu worthwhile. Eighteen minutes long and engaging the entire time, “The Gland” opens up the rest of the album for further scrutiny and visitation. The last track, the title track, concludes Ceremony effectively in the first ten minutes of its half-hour length. The grand themes build and put a fitting climax to the album. But this album has an included aftermath, first there is silence then there is a small choked voice of a guitar that rambles from directionless and wandering to distorted, then forceful, then sated, and so on. It is what is left after the deluge of the Menstrual Extraction Ceremony, the little bit of life clinging on, alone. What upon first listen sounds like completely superficial noodling, ends up contributing to the effect of the album considerably.

This album took some thought for me to engage with it, but it was overall a very rewarding experience. The album art is essential to tapping into the overall aesthetic of this experience; you have probably never seen such sordid shades of pink. The production on Brulvahnatu’s albums was for me the gateway drug of kvlt or nekro production or whatever it’s called. The depth of sound on these recordings makes a lot of other albums sound downright insipid, like a glossy poster in place of a sculpture. And this album continues the great production even though it is ever so slightly tweaked in some of the sounds.

The intention of this album, namely to expose the listener to the lonely and fantastical world of Brulvahnatu, is achieved on this album. Were we being prepared for this Extraction Ceremony during the song “Cleaning Your Womb” from Uterine Acid Swishes? It’s hard to say. But, it can be said that Kib Sreng consistently releases albums of top notch quality that are a profound journey through a different realm. I highly recommend this album and this band to anyone who becomes dissatisfied with the level of musical depth in some metal. The songwriting here isn’t trying to be the most brutal or the darkest or anything, but there’s much more interesting imagery here for which metal music is the perfect medium. The riffs are never over thought; they just go how they’re supposed to, without overscrutinization. Everything falls into a groove here beneath Kib’s guiding hands.

By Austin P.

Pagan Flames Productions
Eternal Obscurity Records

Album Review: Mitochondrion - Parasignosis

A review of Mitochondrion’s Parasignosis

Okay so I’m new to this latest wave of extreme metal that we are currently enjoying, but after hearing Mitochondrion on a compilation CD I decided to check them out and was amazed when I heard the song “Trials” online. I promptly bought their brand new album “Parasignosis” and listened to it about 6 times in three days. That’s very unusual for me, rarely does an album intrigue me enough to warrant more than one listen per day.

This album is torrential. This band understands that heaviness is all about songwriting and production. It’s not about playing as quickly as possible or trying to make an unintelligible amount of racket. But when you listen to this stuff, it can transport you.

Everything is great on this album. The guitars are beautifully dissonant but not too indulgently technical, they are written to express an idea rather than to show off, and the expressed idea is one of apocalyptic proportions. The drums are such that they complement the songs perfectly without distracting from the crushing melodies, which is the mark of the best drummers. The bass is in there somewhere doing its thing and you hear it when you’re supposed to, again, not distracting you from the song’s intention. The vocals are huge. If you were to encounter a tentacled beast in a city that pre-dated mankind it would probably sound like this. I’ve heard a lot of death metal vocals and these are some of the best that I’ve heard. They contribute so much rather than just taking up the space during which someone couldn’t think of any more riffs. From out of this vocal cavern you get lyrics which are also very intelligently written, somewhat verbose perhaps but that’s part of what makes it good, making it sound like you’re opening an ancient tome in a very well executed way. The lyrics also help make the heaviness of the album giving it direction and purpose and do not just exist to fill album liner.

And then there’s the mountain of atmosphere that they put in here; you hear the chains clanking (lots of chains) and the funeral bells and gongs tolling, the pained groans and urgent whispers, and the cavernous space of the overall sound. The atmosphere is so good that they give you ten minutes of it at the end of the album where they throw in some other elements like the accordion, some throat singing, and even a school recorder. It sounds gimmicky but trust me, it works because of the subtlety and thoughtfulness of it all. I’ve listened to some of Mitochondrion’s older stuff and while the writing in those pieces was equally solid, the production here is leagues ahead. If you can’t stand to listen to anything which isn’t “necro” or “kvlt” or whatever then this may not be for you. But this is also not for lovers of squeaky clean compressed production either, it’s big, bad and coming to crush you. Fantastic!

If you order this from Profound Lore records then it’s cheap and comes in a timely fashion, I was very impressed. Also, bonus points for good artwork and packaging. If you listen to metal because you like to hear a sound which is heavier and bigger than anything else, you must give this band a listen.

It’s very fitting that a band like this should have a name like mitochondrion because although mitochondria are microscopic in size, the power that they provide to eukaryotes dominates the planet. In the same way, many headbangers and otherwise might not have heard of this band but their ignorance causes them to miss the fantastic chasm of Armageddon which is Mitochondrion.

By Austin

Mitochondrion
Profound Lore Records