Desperation levels are rising again. So, the escape valve is – you guessed it – Anaal Nathrakh all over again. Some crazed mix of Total Fucking Necro‘s horrible grind and the terrifying musings of the widow that the Kenny / Hunt team pushes straight up your derriere.
Only that this time, we’re reaching into the past. Before the constellation thing even happened, and this is a scary thought all by itself. A record spouting some protoplasmic filth about devils that escaped into this hellscape our world has become lately. Holy water and crosses won’t cure this, but then, what will? Light the metallic fires.
I am not sure what we expected. But that an Anaal Nathrakh record would start Hell is Empty and All The Devils are Here with a fucking intro just takes the cake. Okay, this first ‘track’ already is powerful enough, this ain’t sweetish Power Metal. But it’s also – boring as hell and thus a waste of space. It’s as if Mick Kenney‘s drumming machine had a hickup. The vitriol kinda got lost there, like.
But fear naught, this is about the only real dud on this here record. Der Hölle Rache Kocht in Meinem Herzen1 (hell’s revenge boils in my heart) will set things to rights. Speedy Death Metal meets industrial musings with a scorching power to burn you to cinders. In fact, the whole album is a crazed mix of Black and Death Metal, the remnants of Grindcore, and some hints at industrial atrocities.
And in all that pandemonium, Kenny and Hunt inject those adlebrained screams, rasps, growls, and snarls that suddenly dissolve into trademark clear voice mayhem that will take on more steam on later records. And as their younger brethren, HiEaATDaH2 still sports meaty, yet mean riffs. An attempt at creating some sort of decent metal, I guess. But also something that AN dropped later for totally unhinged turmoil, just for the heck of it.
But get this, the album switches from demented Death Metal riffs to one of the meanest Black Metal that even Gorgoroth couldn’t muster. The devils were indeed in this studio once they underlayed BM vibes with crazed drumming, incessant screams, and some choir from hell in the background. Not sure what I mean? Fire up Castigation and Betrayal and tell me what you hear. If that track isn’t an indicator of what comes later, I don’t know what is. A mean bitch of a track that combines vile BM with all sorts of overly ear-splitting atrocities.
But, in the end, it is true. Endarkenment probably was AN‘s attempt at getting to some sort of sickening mainstream. Only, the Kenney / Hunt gang never quite understood that pigs with cocks in their eyes wouldn’t please the censor-weary folks of modern social media warfare. But then, it gives us an idea of their state of mind – and the RMR crew here is perfectly comfortable with that. Yet, this here 2007 attempt at riding rough with some sturdier fare to follow later really took the metallic cake. That’s raw and abrasive stuff that even the daemons out to get you will flee from.
Hell is Empty and All The Devils are Here is a good record but no great one. The oldish owls over at the RMR review desk saw the first signs of Anaal Nathrakh‘s new-found ferocity appearing. This is the first record that these guys dropped the magic wand ov experimentation and went for the jugular. And there’s no fucking doubt why In The Constellation Of The Black Widow kicked this new wave of Anaal’s unhinged metal out into space. Dark matter now existing or not. In other words, HiEaATDaH was weak beginnings and the widow fucking finished it. But don’t get me wrong, this here record throws a mean punch and you should definitely try and own that record. If you can stomach that kind of murderous brutality for longer than five minutes, that is. So, can you? Manifest yerself, ye mean buggers.
Ed’s note: Fancy more blasts from the past? We got you covered. Or additional vitriol, perhaps? If so, try Vanitas.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: FETO Records | Web: Facebook (band)
Release Date: 29 October 2007