INQUISITORS OF SATAN

If this was my first introduction to Deathspell Omega after reading about them on this website, I would have to wonder why on Earth they are listed in the Prog Archives. But, knowing their later output, there is no doubt this band fits the tech/extreme label to the utmost.

I'll give this band's early days credit; they wore their foul hearts on their sleeves, pumping out primitive raw black metal with a clear aim of capturing that sound Darkthrone achieved back in the early 90s. Unfortunately it's strangely easier said than done. A mistake a lot of these raw black metal bands make involves their attempts to channel a bitter cold and vast atmosphere by compromising their production values. Unlike the pioneers of early 90s Norway, instead of capturing that 'freezing forest' vibe, these later young upstarts are only able to conjure up images of tool benches, dartboards and half empty paint cans, with this album being no exception. The playing is relatively sloppy and treble-heavy which is par for the course, and the cymbals are too loud and distracting while the bass player was most likely passed out on a nearby wicker chair during the recording. The vocals are your standard "goblin who stubbed his toe" delivery, screaming out incoherant evil stuff.

Those who do like their black metal raw and grim would probably dig this effort more than I, but I have to admit I did like some of the riffs here and there, particularly the cool opening rockin' stomp of "Desecration Master" and the last track actually has a hint of that complexity and experimentation with atonal harmonies that would soon mark a complete change in direction of the band into something that barely even qualifies as black metal in the stereotypical 'true' sense of the word.

So yeah, I don't flat out hate this sort of music, but in an overall sense it simply just sounded way too derivative of the thousands of similar sounding groups while offering little to stand out from the legions of mediocre black metal releases by 2002. Deliberately regressive as opposed to progressive in this case...