Arkhum – Anno Universum
Saturday, June 4th, 2011
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Vendlus Records
Arkhum is a band from Eugene, Oregon (yes, the one mentioned in that Sublime song… do you have any idea how many times I’ve been asked by out of staters about that shit?) that has been gaining notoriety at the same rate your mom’s throat gains scar tissue thanks to their chaotic live shows and ability to fervently release demo after demo after live video after single after EP after demo, etc… in five years!
I can say this with 100% certainty: the vocals WILL divide. They do this thing were they trick you into thinking that they’re decent brutal death metal growls, but as soon as you get comfortable they sink into what I’ve always hypothesized would happen if you gargled with raw sewage.
The guitars on the other hand are a mind blowing balancing act of Gigan-ish wankery, just right Wolves In The Throne Room inspired riffs and brain melting solos! Though, after a few tracks, it all does start to get a little old (it took me about five tracks before I wanted to listen to something else the first time through). The only thing that I can say is flawless is album closer Expendable Biomass. Take everything I complained about thus far and rotate it one hundred and eighty degrees! It’s five minutes and thirty three seconds of “YES! BANG YOUR FUCKING SKULL UNTIL SOME OF THAT SWEET GRAY SOUP OOZES OUT!”
On top of that, there is one other thing that nobody can object to and that’s the lyrics (look ‘em up because there is no fucking way you”l be able to understand them if you just jump right in). When you’re songs are about mechanical microorganisms, R’lyeh, or if you even mention the Ptolemaic System in passing, my inner sci-fi/sci-non-fi geek goes berserk! Arkhum has made a fan, right here.
Overall: Anno Universum may not be for everybody. Hell, it almost wasn’t ever for me! But, if you give it a chance and do in fact find something here that gets your blood flowing, it’s a satisfying ride through some cosmic what the fuck.
7/10
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