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Begrime Exemious: Visions of the scourge

11/07/12 || gk

Canada has a long history of some truly evil sounding bestial blackened death metal bands. Be it the legendary Blasphemy or more recent entrants like Antediluvian and Begrime Exemious. The band’s debut album, 2010s “Impending funeral of man” was a filthy exercise in blackened death metal and something I enjoyed a fair bit just for how uncompromisingly ugly that album was.

The follow up “Visions of the scourge” follows along the same path but the song writing has gotten a bit more refined and the attack a bit more deadly. “Incestuous servitude” starts proceedings with a vaguely melodic riff before going off into a chaotic punky middle section. The band brings things back for just a little bit of normalcy but then end with an absolutely relentless assault for the last minute or so. “Oath of Impiety” is a series of dissonant grooves put together in succession with the grooves ranging from thrash, death and black to noisy punk. There’s something a bit exhilarating about this song as the killer riffs just keep coming and the band locks into a groove with what sounds like the utmost ease. “Chasm to obscurity” starts with an American Psycho quote and is slow and measured at the start but the vocals play a big part in building the song’s momentum and almost imperceptibly the song is locked in with another strange but almost hypnotic groove.

“The vault of ancient bone and poison saliva” is the mid album epic going through a variety of moods and tempos before ending in a dirge like fashion some 7 minutes in. “Perverted decadence” sounds like raw old school late 80s black metal and is a bit too noisy for its own good while “Sacrament of virgin flesh” opens very strong with the riff and vocal combo but then somehow loses its way with a very average set of riffs in an album that is otherwise quite inventive. “Visions of the scourge” closes with “Relic of befouled incantations” which is again fast and catchy, sounding like Sodom meets Hellhammer and is a lot of fun before ending in slightly melodic territory complete with a hidden track.

Guitarists D. Orthner and F. Thibaudeau manage to pull off a series of riffs that borrow from thrash, punk, death and black metal but together lead to a quite original set of songs with some strangely off kilter but memorable grooves. Bassist T. Mclelland who also plays in Antediluvian is never just following the guitars or locking in with the drums but creating a well-defined space of his own that really gives the songs a solid foundation. Drummer L. Norland who played with fellow Canadians Weapon for a short while is solid and has some inventive beats that add to the originality of these songs. Vocalist B. Leland’s sandpaper screeches might take some getting used to but he’s absolutely relentless and comes with great attitude.

Begrime Exemious may not be for everybody. This is raw uncompromising stuff, it’s all recorded live and the songs have a noisy dissonant feel to them that might put people off. It’s not something I listen to all the time but when I’m in the mood for some nasty, evil sounding ugliness then “Visions of the scourge” does quite nicely. If you have a soft spot for that whole bestial Canadian blackened death metal scene, then check out Begrime Exemious. The band plays by the rules of the genre but sound quite inventive doing it.

8,5

Information
Released: 2012
Label: Dark Descent Records
Website: Begrime Exemious Bandcamp
Band
B. Leland: vocals
D. Orthner: guitars
F. Thibaudeau: guitars
T. Mclelland: bass
L. Norland: drums

Tracklist
01. Incestuous Servitude
02. Oath of Impiety
03. Chasm to Obscurity
04. The Vault of Ancient Bone & Poison Saliva
05. Perverted Decadence Churning
06. Sacrament of Virgin Flesh
07. Vengeance Bestowed
08. Relic of Befouled Incantations

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