Are you listening? Have I got your attention? Good! Because, this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make brutal, blackened, extreme death metal for modern listeners! Memorable in character from the first riff, this is a stupendously defiant recording on all fronts. If ever I heard so many consistent blast beats being put to such effective use, I simply don’t remember it. Even within that standard technique, drummer Deimos (Eric De Windt, formerly of Destroyer 666, Inhume and more) brings a creativity largely absent in similar circles.

While this is one of the stand-out features of Warfather, each individual member delivers their own arsenal of expertise; the combined, unbelievably guttural, yet clear-as-a-bell roar of Steve Tucker (ex-Morbid Angel among others!) and bassist Avgvstvs, and high-paced, emotive guitar work of Armatura all have unique personality, but blend together perfectly.

Well, I say blend. It does; in the sense that Seth Brundel blends with a fly. Disjointed, unnatural components co-exist in a melange of the disturbed, breaking the rules of expectation. Jittering from Emperor to Hate Eternal, the reanimated remains of BM and DM standards are bent to the evil will that is “Orchestrating The Apocalypse”.

It is however a rawer, less refined sound in terms of studio production than the offerings of those mentioned above.  Apparently it has come under fire for this, but personally I find it refreshing.  It’s still clear, it’s still crushingly heavy, and it helps to further set this apart as a future classic.  I can’t help but wonder if it is an intentional middle finger to the fact that death metal as a genre of late has become more drawn into the mainstream, and perhaps this is a rebellious revisiting of its roots.

If insanely chaotic, heavy intense and intelligently orchestrated music is your thing, you just hit pay dirt.  Or dirt, at least.  A thoroughly impressive example of the sonically repugnant.